The New York Knicks seemed to be resident in the NBA Team-in-turmoil last month, stumbled through coaching issues and their extended second series of defeats of the season.
In its second matchup with Orlando for a little over a week, it was the Knicks, who used the team caught up in the off-court drama to 96-80 victory over the Magic on Thursday night.
Carmelo Anthony scored 19 points and Tyson Chandler had 12 points and 12 rebounds to lead New York past the Magic team that seems to be sliding headfirst back into the series, which pulled the center Dwight Howard all season.
Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said Thursday morning that he heard from the leaders of the management team, Mr Howard has previously asked to be released. Disabled or no comments, Howard and his teammates trudged their way into the season-high fifth straight defeat.
In its second matchup with Orlando for a little over a week, it was the Knicks, who used the team caught up in the off-court drama to 96-80 victory over the Magic on Thursday night.
Carmelo Anthony scored 19 points and Tyson Chandler had 12 points and 12 rebounds to lead New York past the Magic team that seems to be sliding headfirst back into the series, which pulled the center Dwight Howard all season.
Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said Thursday morning that he heard from the leaders of the management team, Mr Howard has previously asked to be released. Disabled or no comments, Howard and his teammates trudged their way into the season-high fifth straight defeat.
"My job security is not what is important right now," Van Gundy said after the loss, downplaying his earlier comments. "What Dwight wants is what's important right now. Importantly, we focused on getting better as a team. It's not that bad, we played five matches in a row."
Earlier in the day, Howard denied that he did such claims Magic brass, echoing previous comments throughout the season. After the match he brushed aside any mention of the conflict between him and his coach.
"I will not talk about it," Howard said of the incident.
Howard the game was out all night and he finished with just eight points and eight rebounds. Jason Richardson scored 16 points and Glen Davis 15 leads Orlando.
Magic lost in all the malaise, it could be one of the better Knicks last effort, and certainly one of the best, because he lost both center Amare Stoudemire and point guard Jeremy LIN injury into the game six years ago.
Lin is in season and out Stoudemire remained sidelined Thursday, but Chandler and New York reserves to fill gaps in picking himself like a charm for the second straight meeting. JR Smith and Toney Douglas each added 15 points for the Knicks, who won for only the third time in their last 13 visits to Orlando. New York also hit 13 3-pointers.
"It was total teamwork," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. "We did not collapse in the fourth quarter (a loss on Tuesday at Indiana) will be up to in paragraph 17). I must say I learned something from the film session. They rebounded well. Return here and beat this team ... I think that Stan has done an excellent job over the years that he is here.
"And this year you've had a good season with this ball club. It's a big win for our team."
The Knicks improved to 28-27 and, more importantly continue to hold the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Douglas, who spent much time on the bench States Knicks this season, said he feels good to have sort of game, knows that he is capable. He had his highest scoring output since December.
"We're not really a big team in the second block, so we have to get up and push the ball, create and kicking," said Douglas. "... It means a lot. Every game is important, especially in our conference. We sent a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter against Indiana. So we played all four quarters tonight. That was the key."
With the Magic morning drama casting a shadow over the games, the Knicks managed the whole event. After submission of Magic by 22 points, the loss of seven days in New York was again the aggressor and took a 17-point lead into the fourth quarter.
Knicks built their lead after a missile shot from behind the arc and easy buckets underneath.
Howard Chandler also rendered ineffective the defensive end, holding the Magic star center scoreless until the dip 3 seconds left in the third quarter.
Orlando never threatened the fourth.
The Knicks shot 48 percent (38 78), marking the fifth straight game the Magic have allowed opponents to shoot at least 47 percent from the floor.
"I think we can accept (Howard) from his comfort zone and make things difficult for him by giving him easy shots," said Chandler. "The loss in Indiana has been disappointing loss. We feel like we won. I am proud of my teammates about how we responded."
Magic, which dropped to 32-23, also dropped to sixth place in the East.
Magic point guard Jameer Nelson said the focus in the future will ignore all the problems that are unrelated to what is happening on the pitch. For what it was that Nelson also took a moment to offer a vote of confidence for Van Gundy.
"We've been all season handling adversity," he said. "It's just another chapter of it. It is about keeping our players and bonding. I love Stan as coach. Since it was here that helped my career. Helped tremendously. It's a great person."
