Julius Randle posted a double-double and was one of three players to score at least 20 points Monday night for the host New York Knicks, who fended off a second-half comeback by the Orlando Magic to earn a 115-102 victory.
Randle finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds for his second double-double in the first three games for the Knicks, who have won two in a row. Jalen Brunson scored 21 points, including the basket that put New York ahead for good in the third quarter, while RJ Barrett added 20 points. Obi Toppin had 10 points off the bench.
Rookie Paolo Banchero continued his fast start by scoring a team-high 21 points for the Magic, who are 0-4 for the first time since the 2014-15 season. Banchero has scored at least 20 points in all four games this season. He is only the third No. 1 overall pick to open his career with at least four straight 20-point efforts, following Oscar Robertson in 1960 and Elvin Hayes in 1968.
Wendell Carter Jr. had a double-double (17 points, 11 rebounds) while Bol Bol added 19 points, five rebounds and four blocks off the bench. Cole Anthony and Franz Wagner had 14 points apiece.
The Knicks twice led by 10 in the second quarter before carrying a 65-59 lead into halftime. Carter scored six points in a 14-4 run that he ended with a 3-pointer to give the Magic a 73-71 lead with 7:32 left in the third.
But Brunson responded with a 3-pointer on the next possession to give the Knicks the lead for good and begin a quarter-ending 25-9 run, which he concluded with a pull-up jumper to give New York its second 14-point lead at 96-82.
The Magic stirred briefly just beyond the midway point of the fourth quarter, when they scored six straight points to pull within 104-98 with 4:24 left. But Brunson converted an old-fashioned three-point play on the next trip down the floor and Orlando missed its next five shots, a span in which New York put the game away with a 9-2 run.
–Field Level Media
