Knicks’ Porzingis questionable
The Orlando Magic might catch a break when they play the New York Knicks this afternoon.
The Knicks might take the floor without their best player, big man
Porzingis, who was already nursing a sprained right ankle, did not attend the Knicks’ practice Saturday because he was sick, multiple news outlets reported.
The Knicks have listed Porzingis as questionable to play Sunday.
Porzingis leads the Knicks in scoring with an average of 25.8 points per game. He also has made 40.2 percent of his 3-point attempts.
“Of course, he’s a big part of our family,” Knicks center said Saturday, according to Newsday. “When your best players are not playing, it just makes you a little nervous. But I believe that all the guys are going to step up.”
On Nov. 8, Porzingis sat out the Knicks’ game against the Magic at Amway Center because he had a sprained left ankle and a tender right elbow. The Magic won that night 112-99.
The Magic won’t be at full strength today.
According to the team’s official injury report, rookie forward will miss his 11th consecutive game due to a sprained right ankle. Swingman
won’t play because of an injured right knee. made 25 of his 42 attempts from beyond the arc. He had made 59.5 percent of his attempts.
But from Nov. 11 through Nov. 24, Gordon made only nine of his 40 shots from deep, lowering his percentage for the season to 41.5 percent.
Gordon has himself since.
Over the Magic’s last four games, Gordon went 17 of 34 from beyond the arc.
He has made 44.0 percent of his 3-point tries this season.
In the Magic’s 133-112 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Friday night, Gordon scored 29 points on 12-of-23 shooting overall, including 5-of-11 shooting steadied from deep.
“I’m just taking what’s there,” Gordon said. “I’ve always wanted to be somebody that can score in a multitude of ways, just anywhere on the floor. Like I’ve said, my teammates are doing a great job looking for me and finding me, creating plays, and I’m going to do the same for them. Whatever’s there, I’m taking it.”
There’s a perception that the Magic’s loss to the Warriors ended the most difficult stretch of the Magic’s schedule this season. That’s not quite true. In reality, the team is still in the midst of its toughest stretch.
After Sunday’s game against the Knicks, the Magic will play on the second night of a back-to-back on Monday against the Charlotte Hornets in Charlotte.
The Magic have lost their last eight games against the Hornets. That’s the Magic’s second-longest active losing streak against a specific opponent.
“These are two winnable games for us,” Gordon said. “We need to come out and compete with everything that we have, and it’ll work out in our favor. I truly believe we’re going to win both of these games.”