Who’s Playing
New York Knicks @ Orlando Magic
Current Records: New York 20-10, Orlando 19-13
How To Watch
When: Friday, December 27, 2024 at 7 p.m. ET
Friday, December 27, 2024 at 7 p.m. ET Where: Kia Center — Orlando, Florida
Kia Center — Orlando, Florida TV: FanDuel SN – Florida
FanDuel SN – Florida Follow: CBS Sports App
CBS Sports App Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.) Ticket Cost: $64.00
What to Know
The New York Knicks and the Orlando Magic will round out the year against one another at 7:00 p.m. ET on Friday at at Kia Center. The Knicks are looking to tack on another W to their five-game streak on the road.
The Knicks are headed into the contest having just posted their closest victory since November 15th on Wednesday. They had just enough and edged the Spurs out 117-114.
Mikal Bridges was nothing short of spectacular: he went 6 for 9 from beyond the arc en route to 41 points plus two steals and two blocks. What’s more, he also posted a 66.7% three-point shooting accuracy, which is the highest he’s posted since back in October. Less helpful for the Knicks was Jalen Brunson’s abysmal 0-5 three-point shooting.
The Knicks smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 17 offensive rebounds. That’s a new trend for them: they were averaging 9.1 offensive rebounds per game earlier this season, but in their last five games they’ve averaged 12.6.
Meanwhile, the point spread may have favored the Magic on Thursday, but the final result did not. They lost 89-88 to the Heat on a last-minute shot From Tyler Herro. Orlando got off to an early lead (up 17 with 5:36 left in the first quarter), but sadly they weren’t able to maintain that momentum.
New York is on a roll lately: they’ve won six of their last seven matches, which provided a nice bump to their 20-10 record this season. As for Orlando, their defeat dropped their record down to 19-13.
This contest is shaping up to be a blowout: The Knicks have been crazy accurate this season, having made 49.7% of their field goals per game (they’re ranked second in field goal percentage overall). It’s a different story for the Magic, though, as they’ve only made 45.1% of theirs this season. Given the Knicks’ sizable advantage in that area, the Magic will need to find a way to close that gap.
Looking forward, the Knicks are the favorite in this one, as the experts expect to see them win by seven points. They might be worth a quick bet since they’re sitting on a three game streak of covering the spread when playing on the road.
Odds
New York is a solid 7-point favorite against Orlando, according to the latest NBA odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Knicks as a 6.5-point favorite.
The oddsmakers are predicting a defensive showdown and set the over/under low at 212.5 points.
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Series History
New York has won 6 out of their last 10 games against Orlando.