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The Knicks tried to tank, dammit. They gave up 41 points in the first quarter, and a very nice 69 points in the first half. Sadly, some of the kids who were finally given a chance to play by Jeff Hornacek weren’t feeling the tank.
Chief among the non-tanking crowd was Trey Burke. The former G Leaguer owned the ever-living crap out of the Magic, dropping 26 points and 6 rebounds on the hapless Magicians. The Knicks got back in the game in the second quarter when Burke started doing his thing, and in the second half he kept up his onslaught until the Knicks had put Orlando away.
.@TreyBurke poppin' it pic.twitter.com/HsZbdm4jA8
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) February 23, 2018
But how did the Knicks go from giving up 69 in the first half to 44 in the second? Much of that credit belongs to Frank Ntilikina. The rook didn’t play much at the point, but he did get 29 minutes of playing time, and the Magic felt the wrath of the tentacles of le calamar français—2 blocks, which should have been 3, including this masterpiece.
FRANKIE BLOCKS
— The Knicks Wall (@TheKnicksWall) February 23, 2018
With his third blocked shot of the night pic.twitter.com/TqCMhzo4A4
Sorry, tank fans—it was a pretty fun game. Recap to come.