Knicks' offense struggles in loss to Magic

The Knicks headed home for Thanksgiving feeling unfulfilled after they couldn't finish off a trip that began with such promise.

For the second straight game, the Knicks' offense failed them and their bench was nearly invisible. A big game from Carmelo Anthony wasn't enough for the Knicks to conclude the four-game trip on a winning note.

The Magic handed the Knicks their second consecutive defeat, 100-91, Wednesday night at the Amway Center. The Knicks ended the four-game trip 2-2 and dropped to 8-8 on the season.

"This was a game we really thought we were going to go in and steal and end this road trip 3-1," Anthony said. "After winning two, the two big ones at the front end of the trip, to drop these two I wouldn't say disappointing but this was a game that I felt like we should have won."

Anthony finished with 28 points and 13 rebounds, and Jose Calderon scored a season-high 25 points. But the Knicks got little from everyone else.

The rest of the team shot 14-for-52 (26.9 percent) and combined for 38 points. Kristaps Porzingis was just 3-for-13 with eight points, eight rebounds and six blocks. He was 0-for-4 on threes.

Overall, the Knicks shot 37.3 percent overall, and totaled just 35 points in the first half. Their subs were outscored 41-12 and shot 4-for-20 from the field.

"We couldn't sustain any level of thrust and force and intensity," Derek Fisher said. "There were times we had one group on the floor that was doing OK and as we got through rotations and substitutions we just couldn't sustain it. It wasn't just the bench guys. Sometimes it was in reverse. We couldn't put a full game together."

Guard Victor Oladipo, who came off the bench for the first time, scored 24 points for the Magic (7-8). Nikola Vucevic added 22 points and 12 rebounds and Dix Hills product Tobias Harris scored 17 with 10 rebounds.

The Knicks opened the trip with wins at Oklahoma City and Houston, but faced double-digit deficits in their consecutive losses at Miami and Orlando.
 

The Magic led by 11 at the half. The closest the Knicks got after that was three in the third quarter. That happened twice but they never had a chance to tie the score.
 

"The last couple of games we just haven't been putting a complete game together," Anthony said. "It seems like we're playing in spurts. We're waiting a little bit too long to pick it up."

But Anthony wasn't too upset and was more encouraged by the Knicks being .500. "To be quite honest with you, if somebody said we was going to be 8-8 in the first month of the season I don't know too many people that would agree with that," he said. "I think we're sitting in a good spot right now despite these past couple of losses."

"We have a chance to have a 10-win month . . . if we finish this month with nine or 10 wins, that's a very productive month for us."Oladipo scored the first four points of the fourth as Orlando opened a 76-63 lead. But the Knicks scored seven unanswered and closed to within 76-70 after a Calderon three-pointer with 7:56 left. Porzingis set up Calderon's three with a two-handed block of an Oladipo dunk attempt.

"I really didn't have to jump that high," the 7-3 Porzingis said. "I can almost touch the rim."

It looked like it could be a momentum-shifting sequence. But the Knicks went more than two minutes without scoring. Calderon ended the drought with a layup that made it 81-72 with 5:39 left.

The Magic extended to 89-74 with 4:30 remaining after three Harris' free throws. One was because Anthony was called for a technical for arguing.

Anthony tried to lead the Knicks back, but the Knicks couldn't get stops on the other end. The closest they got over the final 3:20 was nine.

"We had high expectations to try and sweep this trip," Arron Afflalo said. "It didn't work out. The key is to move on and hopefully not just move on to the next game but to move on and learn."

By Al Iannazzone

al.iannazzone@newsday.comAl_Iannazzone

Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.