Curry, Knicks down Magic

Channing Frye scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds while Stephon Marbury scored 14 points for the Knicks, who ended a three-game losing streak against the Magic.

Darko Milicic scored 19 points before fouling out and Dwight Howard contributed 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Magic, who lost for the fourth time in their last six games.

"We didn’t deserve to win tonight’s game," said Orlando head coach Brian Hill. "Obviously we didn’t make shots, but we took way to many jump shots to begin with. We had no answer for Eddy Curry inside and he just did what he wanted to do in there. For us to be effective we obviously have to make shots."

Quentin Richardson nailed a jump hook late in the opening 12 minutes to give New York a 23-18 advantage at the end of the first quarter. Then, with the score 29-24 early in the second, the Knicks ripped off a 15-6 spurt, capped by a Richardson three with 3:53 left in the first half that gave New York a 44-30 lead.

Frye drained a trey at the buzzer to give the Knicks a 49-34 advantage at halftime.

Four straight free throws by Milicic and J.J. Redick brought Orlando within 11 late in the third, but David Lee answered with a dunk as New York took a 71-58 lead into the final quarter.

A late 11-3 Magic run, led by Hedo Turkoglu and Milicic, brought Orlando within 92-86 on Howard’s slam with 53 seconds remaining. Then, after Jamal Crawford missed on a three, the Magic had a chance to make it a one possession game, but Turkoglu’s three-pointer was off as New York held on for the win.

"Howard is a monster. He is a great player and he is going to be a great player for a long time," said New York head coach Isiah Thomas. "I thought our patience and our poise was good in terms of wanting to play through Eddy, and every time down court, we tried to put it in his hands, because that is how we win basketball games."

Game Notes

Turkoglu finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists for Orlando...The Magic shot just 37.7 percent from the field and were outrebounded 43-38.