The Orlando Magic defeated the host New York Knicks, 115 - 103, at Madison Square Garden on Monday. These are two teams who will battle to sneak into the playoffs, but the Magic looked like the far superior team in this game. They nearly pulled out a wire - to - wire win, as the Knicks never led by more than one and failed to tie or recapture the lead after the first quarter. The assist - to - turnover differential was the decisive statistic, as the Magic recorded 35 assists to just 12 turnovers, while New York committed 18 turnovers to match their 18 assists. Three-point shooting was a big factor as well, with the Magic going 15 - of - 31, to the Knicks, 8 - of - 21. The Magic (16 - 20) have been playing much better on the offensive end recently and this performance only adds to those numbers. Serge Ibaka continued his good form, as he tallied 22 points and six rebounds in the win. Aaron Gordon had a nice all - around game too, collecting 22 points, six rebounds and six assists. Jodie Meeks had one of his best games of the season, as he led the team with 23 points on 7 - of - 9 shooting. Nikola Vucevic recorded a double - double off the bench, totaling 14 points, 13 rebounds and five assists. Elfrid Payton also came off the bench to score 13 points and hand out 14 assists. Orlando will look to build off this win on Wednesday against the Atlanta Hawks. The Knicks (16 - 18) have now lost five - straight games, as they continue to fall down the standings. Carmelo Anthony did play despite being ruled questionable with a knee injury and led the team with 19 points, seven rebounds and three assists on 6 - of - 17 shooting. Derrick Rose was second on the team, as he accrued 18 points, three rebounds and four assists. Brandon Jennings was the only bench player in double figures, as he accumulated 12 points, three rebounds and four assists. The Knicks had to play this game without Kristaps Porzingis, who continues to nurse an Achilles' injury. New York will host the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday for their next game.
["TeamStat(G,'Knicks') has 18 Number of team assists ,has 18 Losses ,has 103 Total points ,has 18 Turnovers ,has 16 Wins ."
 "TeamStat(G,'Magic') has 35 Number of team assists ,has 20 Losses ,has 115 Total points ,has 12 Turnovers ,has 16 Wins ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Aaron Gordon') has 6 Assists ,has 1 Blocks ,has 22 Field goals attempted ,has 6 Field goals made ,has 1 Personal fouls ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Serge Ibaka') has 22 Assists ,has 6 Blocks ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Jodie Meeks') has 1 Assists ,has 9 Blocks ,has 7 Field goals attempted ,has 1 Field goals made ,has 23 Personal fouls ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Elfrid Payton') has 14 Assists ,has 13 Blocks ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Nikola Vucevic') has 5 Assists ,has 14 Blocks ,has 13 Field goals attempted ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Carmelo Anthony') has 3 Assists ,has 17 Blocks ,has 6 Field goals attempted ,has 19 Field goals made ,has 7 Personal fouls ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Derrick Rose') has 4 Assists ,has 18 Blocks ,has 3 Field goals attempted ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Brandon Jennings') has 4 Assists ,has 12 Blocks ,has 3 Field goals attempted ."]