Magic Struggle From Distance, Lose 4th Straight vs. Knicks
ORLANDO - The Orlando Magic is still in pursuit of its first win of the season following a 115-102 loss to the New York Knicks Monday night at Madison Square Garden.
Similar to the first three games, the Magic hung tough with the opponent throughout the entire game but was unable to make things happen in the fourth quarter.
With 4:25 left in the game, the Magic was within two possessions of the Knicks, but the team missed seven of eight shots while New York took advantage and won the game.
"I feel like down the stretch, we just gotta come together and be on the same page as far as shots," Bol Bol said.
The two areas that you would point to as to why the Magic lost the game would be second-chance points and three-point percentage. The Knicks had 26 second-chance points off of 18 offensive rebounds and the Magic shot just 20.6 percent from the three-point line, making just 7 of 34 attempts.
"I would've liked to see the ball move a little bit more," coach Jamahl Mosley said. "There were some shots that we were getting that just weren't falling. We keep telling our guys that we can't always rely on shots being made. We have to keep our heads down and focus on the defensive end of the floor."
When you take as many threes as the Magic do, the shots have to go in at a higher clip. Otherwise, it may be smart to take higher-percentage looks.
Arguably, tonight was the Magic's poorest showing in four games so far. However, there were some bright spots. No. 1 overall pick Paolo Banchero led the team with 21 points, while Bol Bol added 19 off the bench.
The Magic's road trip continues Wednesday against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
You can follow Jeremy Brener on Twitter @JeremyBrener.
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