The Magic (16 - 12) managed to outlast the Knicks (14 - 15) en route to a 107 - 99 victory at Madison Square Garden on Monday. Nikola Vucevic had 20 of his game - high 26 points after the third quarter while Evan Fournier was able to make a couple of huge baskets back - to - back to give the Magic a six point lead with two minutes remaining in the fourth, which ultimately put the Knicks out of reach. Vucevic abused New York down low, finishing 13 - of - 19 from the field with nine rebounds. Carmelo Anthony started off hot for the Knicks, but cooled off in the final frame. The Magic may have got the win Monday, but they lost point guard Elfrid Payton in the first quarter due to a sore left ankle. Prior to leaving, Payton was having a decent night with five points and three assists in 10 minutes of action. Orlando turned to Victor Oladipo in Payton's absence and he put together a nice game, scoring 12 points (4 - 7 FG, 4 - 5 FT) in 24 minutes. The Magic have been very good on the defensive side of the ball lately, but losing Payton will certainly affect those results should he be sidelined for an extended period of time. The Knicks were n't able to get a stop down the stretch, which led to their demise. They did however get an encouraging game from Lance Thomas, who matched his career high of 24 points - - which was also a season high - - while shooting a perfect 9 - of - 9 from the field (3 - 3 3Pt, 3 - 3 FT). Thomas has really come on in the month of December, averaging almost 12 points and a little over 20 minutes per game off the bench while having scored in double figures in six straight.
["TeamStat(G,'Knicks') has 15 Losses ,has 99 Total points ,has 26 Points in 3rd quarter ,has 14 Points in 4th quarter ."
 "TeamStat(G,'Magic') has 12 Losses ,has 107 Total points ,has 26 Points in 3rd quarter ,has 16 Points in 4th quarter ."]