Knicks 113, Magic 105: Scenes from the Chasson Randle takeover

Well that was weird. The New York Knicks let the Orlando Magic stomp all over them during the game’s first few minutes, building a quick 14-point deficit and ensuring another quality night for the tank.

Or so we thought. But rookie point guard Chasson Randle had other ideas. In his first real stint of playing time as a Knick, the Stanford alum led a furious second-quarter rally, sat almost the entire third quarter as Orlando built the lead back up to double-digits, and then helped spearhead a 28-13 fourth quarter. The quintet of Randle, Courtney Lee, Justin Holiday, Lance Thomas and Kyle O’Quinn absolutely throttled the Magic down the stretch as New York took home a 113-105 win.

Randle was the very definition of shrewd, clever, slick.

Mindaugas Kuzminskas yammed it on (sleazy ex-Celtic) Jeff Green so hard it brought tears to my eyes.

Willy Hernangomez was playing well — 14 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists...

...before getting cold-cocked by Bismack Biyombo and leaving the game with a major shiner under his eye. Kyle O’Quinn had the reaction of the night.

O’Quinn didn’t get to play until the fourth quarter, but he made the most of it, dropping 11 points and 8 rebounds in just 12 minutes. That fourth-quarter stint was really something special, even if it did cost the Knicks in the tank rankings.

Recap to come.