What better way to solve a post-Finals curse than a little bit of Magic?
The New York Knicks hope that and a little home cooking serves the cure for early championship defense blues: New York will make its third attempt at securing its first win of the 2026-27 season on Sunday evening when the equally hapless Orlando Magic come to visit for a weekend closer.
New York made the wrong brand of history through Friday night’s 107-103 loss to the Boston Celtics. Having had their championship commemoration spoiled by the Philadelphia 76ers three days prior, the Knicks became the first reigning Larry O’Brien Trophy hoister to drop each of its first two showings since the Dallas Mavericks did so in the shortened 2011-12 campaign.
Friday’s fracas against the rival Celtics at least brought forth double-doubles from OG Anunoby (20 points, 10 rebounds), Josh Hart (12 rebounds, 10 points), and Karl-Anthony Towns (22 points, 10 rebounds), as well as a 20-point effort in relief from Miles McBride. The Knicks, however, were unable to contain Celtics star Jayson Tatum, who earned all but 11 of his 36 points in a second half primarily controlled by the green hosts.
Orlando, coming off an eighth-place posting on last year’s bracket, endured some brutal news before taking to metropolitan hardwood, as Shams Charania of ESPN reported that franchise face Paolo Banchero is due to miss multiple weeks with a low-grade ankle sprain. The Magic has also dropped each of its first two games, including a 115-93 defeat to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday. Wendell Carter Jr. led the way with 20 points after Banchero had to sit out the fourth.
This will be the first of three meetings between the Knicks and Magic this season and the series will finish with consecutive tilts in Central Florida in late March. The two sides split four get-togethers last year, with the Knicks winning each of the last couple. Jalen Brunson scored 40 in the last showdown on Dec. 13 in Orlando, a 132-120 Knicks victory.
What: Orlando Magic (0-2) @ New York Knicks (0-2)
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
When: Sunday, 6 p.m. ET, MSG
Who’s Favored: TBD
Keep An Eye On: Mikal Bridges
Mikal Bridges‘ postseason work over the last two seasons should’ve realistically ended any and all debate about his Manhattan legacy. But, this being New York, the grind―and glare of the spotlight―never ceases.
It’s not like the Knicks have been getting blown out, so that makes Bridges’ shooting struggles all the more glaring: after going but 2-of-8 from the field on opening night, Bridges was kept off the board entirely in the visit to Boston. Among men who have played at least two games and averaged at least 25 minutes, Bridges is third-to-last in offensive rating.
No one’s expecting Bridges to pick up the Knicks’ scoring slack. After all, the team won a championship in a year where he posted his lowest point average since his last full season with the Phoenix Suns in 2021-22. But these misfires become particularly brutal in close games and he’ll have to clean things up before things fully spiral out of control. A golden opportunity awaits against Orlando with Banchero out.
Central Floridian to Watch: Desmond Bane
Speaking of sizable trade swings, the meandering Magic still insist on floating in a holding pattern when it comes to determining the winner of their sizable Bane gambit with the Memphis Grizzlies. Orlando mortgaged almost all of its primary draft future for Bane’s services and has little to show for it.
The lack of progress already partly cost Jamahl Mosley his head coaching job and it has granted an inauspicious start to what his successor Sean Sweeney is trying to build. Bane has likewise struggled from the field in the early going, hitting less than 27% from the field over his debut couple (1-of-9 from three-point alone in Friday’s defeat to Minnesota).
With Banchero out, Bane’s spotlight becomes wider and hotter. There’s no grander stage to get one’s game back than the Garden, and the Magic hope he can re-obtain it sooner rather than later. Facing a Knicks group that’s struggle to maintain an offensive spark would also be a brilliant opportunity for Bane to re-gain his defensive spark, which has been equally lacking as the Magic have struggled to get back on track.
They Said It
“He had three or four wide open threes and we want them to make half of them if they’re open. But he’s got to keep shooting them and hopefully, they’ll eventually go in sooner than later, but he’s getting the looks that he needs to get. He’s just got to knock them down now … He’s got to make sure that he’s physical on the defensive end and he, as well as everybody else because it was all of us, are laying on screens when we get hit, and that when we do switch, there’s a level of physicality to the switch so that they’re not able to take advantage of us.”―Knicks head coach Mike Brown on Bridges after game two (h/t Phillip Martinez, SNY)
“You can’t overreact. Obviously two frustrating losses, but it’s a long season. So, you can’t overreact. Same way if we would be 2-0, you know? You can’t overreact to two games … I think (Friday was) kind of a weird game. We did a good job on their stars, but I think the other guys killed us on the glass and second-chance opportunities. I think they got up a lot more shots than we did, which just gives them a lot more opportunity to score the ball.”―Banchero on the Magic’s slow start (h/t Jason Beede, Orlando Sentinel)
Prediction
Bippity, boppity, 1-2.
Even before they found the Association’s ultimate prize, the Brunson era Knicks have been traditionally adept at containing calamities. It’s very telling that this is the first time that the Knicks been multiple games under .500 since the early days of November 2023, when they dropped four of their first six.
Facing an opponent searching for its land legs under a new coach and one that just enjoyed one of the worst brands of medical news feels like a brilliant opportunity to start making things right. With the way that this infantile season has gone, it’s fair to assume that the Knicks won’t make it easy on themselves, but they’ve accomplished far too much to assume that they’ll let such a blatant offer to get right go by the wayside.
