The magic is alive at Madison Square Garden. Fortunately for those gathered, the early sorcery stems from a metropolitan source rather than Central Florida.
Julius Randle led the way with a 25-point, 12-rebound double-double, uniting with Jalen Brunson (21) and RJ Barrett (20) for 66 tallies en route to the New York Knicks' 115-102 victory over the Orlando Magic on Monday night. Combined with Friday's blowout win over Detroit, the Knicks (2-1) have formed their first winning streak of the 2022-23 season.
Though not nearly as one-sided as Friday's victory, the Knicks maintained a consistent lead throughout Orlando's visit. The Magic trimmed the lead to as little as two by the midway mark of the third quarter but a triple from former Central Floridian Evan Fournier ignited a 20-8 run to close out the period. That triple and another two-pointer from Isaiah Hartenstein were the five points in that span that didn't involve the Knicks' de facto big three, which saw the Knicks go up double figures on an Obi Toppin alley-oop from the arms of Barrett.
Randle's early resurgence defined the day, as he shot 10-of-19 from the field while continuing to move around and generate assists. He united with Hartenstein and Mitchell Robinson to haul in 14 offensive rebounds while limiting the hapless Magic (0-4) to only 13 second chances as a team. Toppin (10) reached double figures off the bench while Immanuel Quickley was kept off the scoresheet after earning the team lead with 20 on Friday, but he also dished out eight assists and pulled in six rebounds.
Top overall pick Paolo Banchero paced the Magic with 21 points in defeat. New York and Orlando won't do battle again until Feb. 7 in Central Florida, the second of three scheduled meetings between the two teams this season.
The Knicks will look to complete the sweep of an opening three-game homestand on Wednesday night when they battle the Charlotte Hornets (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG).
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