Orlando Magic (1-2) beat New York Knicks (0-3) 111-102 on the road on Sunday, October 25. The Knicks led after three quarters, but the Magic took control in the fourth.
How it unfolded
The Knicks held a 4-point lead after three quarters. The Magic won the fourth 40-27 to take it.
What decided it
The Magic shot 53.4% on an effective basis to 45.7% for the Knicks. Shot quality is the biggest of the four factors, and it was the clearest gap.
The game played at about 104 possessions per team. The Magic scored 106.8 points per 100 possessions and the Knicks scored 98.2, a difference of 8.6.
The Magic's reserves also made a difference, outscoring the opposing bench 34-11.
Who made the difference
Karl-Anthony Towns (NYK) posted the best line of the night by Game Score (20.2): 22 pts, 14 reb, 4 ast on 8-15 shooting. The team was -1 in the minutes Karl-Anthony played.
For the Magic, Franz Wagner was the best of the rest at 18.1: 23 pts, 13 reb, 9 ast on 9-23 shooting.
Karl-Anthony Towns (22 pts, 14 reb, 4 ast) and Franz Wagner (23 pts, 13 reb, 9 ast) each recorded a double-double.
Game Score is a single number that weighs points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, shooting efficiency, fouls and turnovers. It is not an official stat, just a quick way to rank lines.
What it means
By our Win Meter this was an upset: The Magic entered with about a 16% chance.
Across the last 8 meetings in our records, New York Knicks lead 5-3.
The Magic are now 1-2, and the Knicks are 0-3. The Magic last five before this game: L-L-L-L-L.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.