The Knicks seize their moment of revenge, overpowering the Magic on a tense night that took a sharp turn when Franz Wagner went down early — a fiery showdown fueled by urgency, emotion, and New York’s hunger to rewrite the narrative.
Franz Wagner went down awkwardly after being fouled by Ariel Hukporti in the first quarter, immediately writhing in pain and grabbing his left knee. He stayed there for a few minutes before he was helped — basically carried — into the locker room, unable to put any weight on his left leg. He was quickly ruled out.
Just like that, the biggest Knicks killer this season — and the Magic’s leading scorer — was out of the equation. Wagner scored 28 and 37 points against the Knicks in the two previous matchups with the Magic this season, both Orlando wins. Beyond those two games, Wagner and the Magic could be a potential playoff roadblock down the road for the Knicks in the Eastern Conference.
But with what could be a serious injury and a mostly comfortable showing, that dynamic changed in a hurry.
The Knicks (16-7) won 106-100 Sunday afternoon at Madison Square Garden. They improved to a stellar 13-1 at MSG, one of just two teams in the NBA — along with the Thunder — with fewer than two home losses. The one game the Knicks dropped at home was to … the Magic.
Knicks guard Jalen Brunson celebrates a 3-pointer against the Magic on Dec. 7, 2025.
The physical Magic punked the Knicks the first two meetings. Sunday, the Knicks better handled that aggression.
“It’s big for us,” coach Mike Brown said. “They’re well-coached and they’re a really good team. … It’s good to get a win against a good team that plays a certain way. We hadn’t figured it out yet [last matchup].”
The Knicks were short-handed themselves, playing without Karl-Anthony Towns due to left calf soreness and Miles McBride exiting early with a left ankle injury. Jalen Brunson, despite another poor shooting game from 3-point range, led them with 30 points.
Franz Wagner (22) of the Magic is guarded by the Knicks’ OG Anunoby (8) on Dec. 7, 2025.
After trailing at halftime by a point, the Knicks scored the first 13 of the third quarter to take control. They led the rest of the way. And they scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter to take a 16-point lead.
Brown perhaps pulled his starters too early, as the Magic cut the deficit to six points with 19.1 seconds, then had possession with a chance to cut it further. Brown re-inserted his starters, who avoided catastrophe.
Josh Hart keeps making Brown’s decision to insert him into the starting lineup look like the right one. He had a double-double, recording 17 points and 12 rebounds. He drilled 3 of 5 3-pointers.
OG Anunoby, playing in his second game after missing the previous nine with a hamstring strain, enjoyed a strong shooting game, going 5-for-7 from deep and finishing with 21 points. He also did a good job guarding Paolo Banchero, who scored just 16 points. Anunoby added seven rebounds and three steals and was a team-best plus-20.
After the Magic had cut their deficit to nine late in the fourth quarter, Anunoby scored five straight points to end any thought of a comeback.
“The versatility that OG gives us, it’s unbelievable,” Brown said. “At his size, he can guard a lot of different people, being able to throw OG at Paolo. … Having that size and versatility from OG defensively is huge. He can guard one through five. Then you flip it, his shooting, his ability to attack the rim, all those things, at his size, are huge for us.”
Mitchell Robinson started in Towns’ place and recorded six points and 13 rebounds. Hukporti, seeing more action than usual with Towns out, gave the Knicks valuable minutes, particularly on the defensive end. He had six points, seven rebounds and three blocks. Notably, he made all four free throws he took.
OG Anunoby (8) of the Knicks dunks against the Magic on Dec. 7, 2025.
Hukporti was Brown’s defensive player of the game.
“Obviously I have some people ahead of me when everybody is healthy,” Hukporti said. “It was incredible to show, especially in my second year, to show that I can do it, too.”
Along with the Heat, Bulls and Bucks, the Knicks have now gotten revenge and beaten all the teams that they had previously lost to. Their only other loss came to the Celtics, whom they had beaten beforehand.
Sunday might not have been as much of a statement game once Wagner went out, but it was the latest step in avenging every loss on their schedule.
