Orlando is 53-53 all-time vs. New York in regular season action (29-24 at home, 24-29 on the road), including 1-3 last season…Orlando has lost four of the last five meetings against New York but split the last 12 matchups overall…Orlando has lost eight of the last ten meetings at home and seven of the last ten meetings at Madison Square Garden…President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman is a New York native…Assistant GM Pete D’Alessandro is from New York and started his career as a video coordinator at St. John’s University from 1986-90…Assistant Coach Jay Hernandez is from New York and attended Hofstra University…Aaron Afflalo played in 71 games with the Knicks during the 2015-16 season.
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. KNICKS: 41 pts., Shaquille O’Neal (@ Orlando, 2-28-95; @ Orlando, 2-5-
95; @ New York, 11-10-94)
“Porzingis is a tough matchup, for sure,” Gordon said. “He’s so tall and can shoot the ball very well. [He’s] mobile, athletic. He’s a very good player, and he’s doing what New York needs him to do. I’m just going to go out there and make it difficult for him, take him out of his comfort zone, crowd him, be athletic, run him up and down the court.”
“It’s very important, especially because after that we go to the West Coast,” center Nikola Vucevic said. “Those West Coast trips can be very tough and tricky, and we have some tough games to play over there. So I think it would be very important for us [to win] just because we lost two and because we have this road trip.
“Then, New York is a team that’s been playing really good basketball lately. So that would be a good win for us. And they’re kind of in the same position as us: They had a tough year last year and they want to do better. Same here. So I think it’ll be a fun matchup.”
``Just live through my teammates, encourage them and pick them up and cheer them on,’’ Payton said of the mindset that has kept him from getting too dour about being out the past 2½ weeks with lingering pain in his left leg. ``I get excited when they’re playing well and I try and pick them up when things aren’t going their way. So, I’m just trying to live through them. … (Trying to give back) as much as I can, man. That’s what I was put here for – to give.’’
Payton and the Magic hoped that holding him out of games last Friday and Sunday – losses to Chicago and Boston – and having Monday and Tuesday to practice would eliminate the nagging pain he’s felt in his left leg. He practiced fully on Saturday and still felt pain afterward and went through Tuesday’s prep for Wednesday’s game against the New York Knicks. However, Payton was far from confident when addressing the topics of his health and his status for a Wednesday night return.
``A little bit of tightness there. It’s a little sore, but nothing (big),’’ Payton said. When asked if he thinks he will play on Wednesday for the Magic (6-4) against the Knicks, Payton would only go as far as this: ``We’ll see.’’
``He looked good again, but he still has some tightness in (the hamstring) that we’re concerned about,’’ Vogel said. ``We’ll see how he feels (on Wednesday). If (the pain) is significant, we’ll hold him out again. We want to be smart about it. Hopefully he’s able to go, but we’ll see (on Wednesday).’’
``It changes a lot (when there’s only one healthy point guard) because sometimes people take for granted what a point guard brings to the team,’’ Payton said. ``It’s just about overall flow. It’s not anyone’s fault; it’s just that they haven’t played there their whole life and now you put them there against the highest competition in basketball. I think (Simmons) has done a great job with the hand that he’s been dealt and he’s still been able to be effective for us. It’s just about the overall flow and getting us in sets when things break down and a team going on a run against us – those are the things that a point guard can bring to a team.’’
THIS DATE IN MAGIC HISTORY – NOVEMBER 8…
November 8, 1995 – Orlando tied its record for the longest game played in franchise history - a three hour, 24 minute, triple
overtime contest vs. New Jersey. Anfernee Hardaway scored 42 points during the 130-122 Magic victory and Nick Anderson
came up with 15 boards.
November 8, 1990 – Dennis Scott made his first career start and scored a game-high 28 points in a 103-99 loss at Houston.
Greg Kite corralled a team-high 11 rebounds for the Magic.
November 8, 1989 – Coming back from a 25-point, first-half deficit, Orlando earned its first road win in franchise history with a
117-110 win at Cleveland’s Richfield Coliseum. The contest was also the first overtime game in club history, while also
representing the largest deficit Orlando has overcome (25 points) to win a game in team history. Reggie Theus scored a gamehigh
28 points.
