Magic 111, Knicks 106: Scenes from a brutal start leading to a brutal defeat

The Knicks are now on a three-game losing streak after going on a three-game winning streak and this one takes the cake. Orlando is getting better, but for the Knicks to drop this game hurts a lot in the big picture of playoff seeding.

For New York, the very beginning of the game was solid. The energy seemed to be there and Quentin Grimes showed that with a big slam at the end of the first quarter.

Then the Knicks got punched in the mouth in the second quarter. Orlando went up by as many as 19 points which ended up doing New York in. To the credit of Immanuel Quickley and company, they cut it down to a manageable deficit before halftime.

And in the third quarter defensive plays like these two from Isaiah Hartenstein kept the Knicks in the game with a real chance of turning it around.

New York did fight until the end as shown by this late Josh Hart three, but it was a lousy second quarter that reminded fans of some of the bad losses from earlier in the season.

The Knicks will play Houston at home next on Monday in a game they really need in order to stay in the hunt for a top four seed. Tip off at MSG is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. We will have all of the coverage right here on the site as always.