A dominant fourth quarter from Jameer Nelson led the Orlando Magic to a 116-110 victory over the New York Knicks Tuesday night. The Knicks’ big three of Carmelo Anthony (25 points), Amare Stoudemire (30) and Chauncey Billups (30) did their part scoring, but it wasn’t enough.
The Magic had an excellent second half, especially the fourth quarter where the Knicks’ defense had trouble containing Nelson, who went off and scored 13 points in the final frame. New York, as predicted, had a rough go of it defending Dwight Howard. Although he got the bulk of his production in the first quarter, the numbers don’t lie, as Howard continued his red-hot play with 30 points and 16 rebounds.
The Knicks will be back in action tomorrow when they host the New Orleans Hornets, and undoubtedly many eyes will be on Chris Paul, who many envision in a Knick uniform in 2012. But that is a discussion for another time, and for the third straight game, the Knicks will have to deal with an elite NBA player on the opposition.