ORLANDO, Fla. — What could have been among the Knicks’ ugliest losses this year nearly was transformed into their most magical comeback of the season.
The Knicks overcame an early inept shooting display to put a scare into the Magic in the fourth quarter, but it was too little and too late to avoid a second straight loss on this road trip, 117-108, before a typically boisterous bipartisan crowd at Kia Center.
One game after committing 18 turnovers in a trip-opening loss to the Thunder, the Knicks added 16 more giveaways, while missing 17 of their first 18 attempts from 3-point range — and 24 of 30 overall.
Julius Randle had a strong overall game with 38 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, albeit with a team-high five turnovers.
RJ Barrett started slowly but finished with 19 for the Knicks, who will look to salvage one win on this three-game road trip Saturday night against Tyrese Halliburton, Obi Toppin and the Pacers in Indiana.
Jalen Brunson endured a rare off-night from the floor, shooting 4-for-15, though he nailed all 12 of his free-throw attempts to finish with 20 points.
The Knicks (17-14) were down by 20 in the third quarter and by as many 14 in the fourth, but a 3-pointer by Quentin Grimes drew them within 10 with 7:09 remaining.
Franz Wagner responded with a left-side triple, but Brunson’s lefty scoop drive finally got the Knicks within single digits at 102-93 with 4:44 left.
But Brunson was rejected on consecutive drives by Goga Bitadze and Jalen Suggs.
Two free throws by Paul Banchero and two more by Wagner replenished the Orlando lead to 10 with under three minutes to go.
The Knicks appeared to close within four on a Randle putback dunk with 1:02 remaining, but Randle was called for a push that was upheld by replay.
After one free throw by Bitadze, Randle shaved the deficit to five with a driving dunk, but the Knicks never got closer.
Wagner led the Magic (19-12) with 32 points and Banchero registered 29 and 10 rebounds.
The Knicks missed their first four 3-point attempts and trailed by as many as nine in the first quarter, but Randle sank two consecutive shots in the lane, drew a foul on another drive and drained a baseline jumper for eight straight Knicks points to close the score to 21-20.
Randle finished with 16 in the quarter, including a transition bucket one offensive possession after he’d been rejected in close by Wagner.
Immanuel Quickley also added five quick points in his first stint off the bench, a floater in the paint and a go-ahead 3-pointer that helped the Knicks carry a 29-26 lead through 12 minutes.
Still, Quickley’s trey was the Knicks’ lone connection from long range on their first 18 tries through the midpoint of the third quarter, and the Magic went back ahead by seven on Banchero’s 3-pointer with 5:46 remaining before halftime.
Driving buckets by Wagner and Jalen Suggs as part of an 11-0 run helped stretch the Orlando advantage to 13.
The Knicks missed 16 of their first 18 attempts from the floor in the period, and they were held without a field goal for more than seven minutes of game time between Barrett’s layup with 8:33 to play and Randle’s inside hoop with 1:26 to go.
A traditional three-point play off a dunk by Hartenstein and a transition dunk by DiVincenzo off a turnover cut the deficit to seven, but the Magic scored the final four points, including a transition drive by Wagner with 0.1 seconds on the clock following a DiVincenzo giveaway for 55-44 game at intermission.
Randle had 19 at the half, but Brunson (1-for-5), Barrett (2-for-9) and DiVinncenzo were a combined 4-for-18 from the floor.
Brunson added another miss to open the third quarter, while Banchero netted five points in a 10-2 run and fed Wagner inside for a 19-point cushion less than three minutes into the period.
Wagner sank a free throw on a technical foul called against Barrett to make it 66-46, although Barrett finally knocked down a trey a few minutes later after the Knicks had started 1-for-18 from beyond the arc.
After Suggs and Quickley exchanged 3-pointers, the Knicks had a chance to close within nine in the closing seconds, but Randle was whistled for traveling to leave them behind 86-74 entering the final period.
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