Orlando's shooting from deep kept it within reach until its fourth-quarter breakthrough. The Magic recovered from New York's 12–0 opening run but still entered the fourth quarter down four. An 11–0 burst erased a 10-point deficit, and after the Knicks briefly retook the lead, Orlando broke a 91–91 tie with a 7–0 run that New York never answered. Franz Wagner finished with 23 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists as the Magic overcame a 20-point disadvantage in the paint and an 11-point deficit in points off turnovers.
The biggest reason
3PT Shooting
ORL 43%vsNY 24%
Also mattered
+10%Free-throw shooting
+2Blocks
Game flow
When the lead changed
ORLNY
ORL's biggest lead was 11 points · NY's was 12 points · 3 lead changes
Quarter-by-quarter momentum
Quarter winners and scoring margin
Q1
ORL21
NY28
NY won by 7
Q2
ORL27
NY24
ORL won by 3
Q3
ORL23
NY23
Quarter tied
Q4Biggest margin
ORL40
NY27
ORL won by 13
Game turning points
Moments identified from the scoring timeline
Largest deficitQ1 · 7:24
Orlando Magic trailed by 12 at its deepest point before going on to win.
ORL 0–NY 12
Final lead changeQ4 · 4:53
Orlando Magic went ahead and did not trail again.
ORL 94–NY 91
Late-game pressureQ4 · 2:42
The game was within five points late, with Orlando Magic ahead.
ORL 98–NY 94
Momentum swings
Key runs
5 runs · 7+ unanswered points
Q1 · 11:07–7:24Largest run
New York Knicks12–0run
ORL 0 – NY 0→ORL 0 – NY 12
Q2 · 2:27–1:46
Orlando Magic8–0run
ORL 40 – NY 49→ORL 48 – NY 49
Q3 · 8:37–7:18
New York Knicks9–0run
ORL 53 – NY 54→ORL 53 – NY 63
Q4 · 9:02–7:25
Orlando Magic11–0run
ORL 76 – NY 86→ORL 87 – NY 86
Q4 · 4:53–3:26
Orlando Magic7–0run
ORL 91 – NY 91→ORL 98 – NY 91
Players who shaped the game
Player impact
From the box score
Orlando Magic
ORL
Leading scorerFranz Wagner
23PTS13REB9AST0STL0BLK
Impact contributorDesmond Bane
22PTS6REB2AST0STL2BLK
Impact contributorAnthony Black
18PTS3REB5AST2STL0BLK
New York Knicks
NY
Leading scorerJalen Brunson
28PTS3REB4AST2STL1BLK
Impact contributorKarl-Anthony Towns
22PTS14REB4AST1STL1BLK
Impact contributorJosh Hart
13PTS8REB2AST2STL0BLK
Team performance
Biggest advantages and setbacks
What the winner did best—and what it overcame
Advantages
Three-point shootingWinner edge
Orlando Magic had a 19 percentage points edge in three-point shooting.
ORL 43%NY 24%
Free-throw shootingWinner edge
Orlando Magic had a 10 percentage points edge in free-throw shooting.
ORL 81%NY 71%
BlocksWinner edge
Orlando Magic had a 2 edge in blocks.
ORL 6NY 4
Setbacks
Points in the paintOpponent edge
Orlando Magic trailed in points in the paint by 20.
ORL 32NY 52
Points off turnoversOpponent edge
Orlando Magic trailed in points off turnovers by 11.
ORL 12NY 23
StealsOpponent edge
Orlando Magic trailed in steals by 2.
ORL 6NY 8
The numbers behind the win
Evidence
5 signals
Three-point shooting
Orlando created its clearest team-level scoring advantage on the perimeter despite New York's dominance in the paint.
ORL43%
NY24%
Fourth-quarter comeback
ORL 11-0 run
The Magic erased a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit and moved one point ahead during their first major push of the final period.
Decisive separation
ORL 7-0 run
Orlando broke a fourth-quarter tie and established a seven-point advantage that New York never erased.
Free-throw shooting
The Magic also held a meaningful efficiency advantage at the foul line.
ORL81%
NY71%
Editorial turning point
Orlando broke a 91-91 tie with a 7-0 fourth-quarter run
The Magic created a seven-point lead from the tie, New York never regained the lead, and the advantage persisted through the final result.
This game’s Winning DNA
How Orlando Magic got it done.
The winning formula behind this game.
Orlando Magic
3PT Shooting
40%
Clutch Execution
25%
Superstar Performance
20%
Rebounding
15%
Editorial weights for this game — not fan-vote percentages or official NBA statistics.
Team Comparison
Orlando Magic111 PTSVSMadison Square GardenNew York Knicks102 PTS
38-88
FG
38-93
18-42
3PT
9-38
17-21
FT
17-24
49
REB
45
29
AST
26
6
STL
8
6
BLK
4
16
TO
16
The Debate
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