Top Orlando, won’t give up on playoffs
ORLANDO— They can be dysfunctional at times and occasionally on the verge of imploding. And despite Kristaps Porzingis proclaiming his fondness for the triangle, most of the team isn’t thrilled running an offense they thought was dead weeks ago.
The one thing the Knicks can all agree upon and perhaps even rally around is the belief that they can still make something of their season.
“I was on a Bulls team that didn’t make the playoffs until game 82,” Derrick Rose said following the Knicks’ 101-90 win over the Magic on Wednesday. “There’s still a lot of time left.”
Whether that is the smart play is debatable. The future for the Knicks is the NBA Draft Lottery in May as opposed to hoping Rose can carry the Knicks to eighth place in April. But Phil Jackson and Jeff Hornacek want to reach the playoffs, so there won’t be any talk of tanking on the first day of March.
“Of course,” Carmelo Anthony said. “How many games do we have left, 21? Anything can happen. We’re still playing for something. We have the mindset to make something happen.”
With one quarter of the regular season still to be played, the Knicks opened the stretch run by outclassing a team that is in worse shape than they are. With Porzingis back in the lineup and Rose having his way with Orlando point guard Elfrid Payton, they won a road game against a team they have to beat in order to stay within striking distance of eighth place.
Porzingis, who had missed two games with a sprained right ankle, started at center and made 6 of 15 shots with nine rebounds. He also received an earful from Hornacek during a fourth quarter timeout, for taking a quick, contested 3-pointer.
Anthony added 17 points on 15 shots with nine rebounds while Rose, the subject of trade talks last week, produced one of his better games with 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Evan Fournier led the Magic with 22 points.
Chasson Randle, who was signed after the Knicks waived Brandon Jennings, made his New York debut and played the final two minutes.
The Knicks improved to 25-36 and have plenty of ground to make up over the final 21 games to leapfrog four teams. A playoff berth may be improbable but it’s not impossible.
“A lot of things have to come into play,” Anthony said.
With the Knicks in Philadelphia on Friday, Hornacek’s team has a chance to post a two-game winning streak for the first time since beating Indiana and Orlando at the Garden on Dec. 20 and 22, respectively. That modest streak was stopped by the Celtics on Christmas Day. That loss was also a turning point of the season as it started the Knicks’ downward spiral.
The Golden State Warriors, minus Kevin Durant, visit the Garden on Sunday before the Knicks return here to face the Magic on Monday. It’s an odd schedule — two road games in Orlando over five days — but considering the state of the Magic these days the Knicks should look at it as a lucky break.
On Wednesday, the Knicks led by as many as 11 in the first half and extended their advantage to 16 in the third. Orlando is headed to the draft lottery. The Magic, who two weeks ago traded Serge Ibaka to Toronto, fell to 22-39 in Frank Vogel’s first season with the club. The Knicks held the Magic to just 39 second-half points.