New York Knicks at Orlando Magic prediction, pick for 3/23: Knicks raise urgency level

Yardbarker Quick Pick

The Knicks have dropped two straight, but the Magic offer them a chance to right the ship and maintain their spot in the East's top six. New York has beaten Orlando in three straight games by an average margin of 15.6 points. We're betting Knicks -3. — Griffin Carroll, Yardbarker

These Knicks-Magic odds already may have changed in your favor! Get LIVE updates on OddsChecker!

Thursday, 7 p.m. ET
New York Knicks: - 3 (-105) spread, -157 moneyline, over 228.5 (-105)
@ Orlando Magic: +3 (-110) spread, +140 moneyline, under 228.5 (-106)

Looking for the best sportsbook offers? Check out our FREE bets page

While the Knicks (42-32) remained in fifth place in the East, the loss reduced their lead over the Brooklyn Nets (39-33) and the Heat (40-34) -- who are in a virtual tie for sixth place -- to two games. The seventh- through 10th-place finishers take part in the play-in tournament to determine the final two playoff teams.

"You've got to be mentally tough when things aren't going our way," Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson said. "It's going to be loud in the playoffs. If we want to be the team that we want to be, we've got to be better."

The Knicks were left to lament a subpar defensive effort Wednesday night -- just as they did after Monday's 140-134 loss to the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Heat shot 57 percent (45 of 79) from the field and 57.1 percent (16 of 28) on 3-point attempts two nights after the Timberwolves shot 61.4 percent (51 of 83) overall and 58.3 percent (14 of 24) from beyond the arc.

The Knicks, who overcame a 16-point third-quarter deficit to take a handful of leads in the fourth quarter Monday, stormed back from an 11-point third-quarter hole on Wednesday and held the lead twice in the fourth. But Max Strus' 3-pointer with 7:05 left gave the Heat the lead for good at 101-100 and began a game-ending stretch in which Miami hit all five of its 3-point attempts.

"Just got to get our defense in order, first off," Knicks forward Julius Randle said. "We've got to get our defense in order and find a way to get stops on that end."

The Magic (30-43), who are in 13th place in the East, tightened the race for the final play-in spot Tuesday by beating the 12th-place Wizards, who fell to 32-41 with a 118-104 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night.

"That's a team we had to beat," Magic guard Cole Anthony said after scoring 16 points off the bench. "They're ahead of us. But we'll take a win any way we can get it."

Orlando is 3-3 in its last six games after going 2-5 from Feb. 25 through March 9.

The Magic are 4 1/2 games behind 10th-place Chicago following the Bulls' 116-91 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night, but even staying on the fringes of postseason contention could be valuable for a team whose top five scorers are all younger than 25.

"The long-term road seems so far sometimes that it's difficult to get up in the morning if you work for something that seems to be down the road," Magic center Moritz Wagner told the team's website. "These short-term goals help us stay locked in on a day-to-day basis and connect (them) even more than we would do if we played for something next year."