Knicks Shutdown Magic, 96-80
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Christian Petersen/Getty Images(ORLANDO, Fla.) — The New York Knicks were not worried about whether or not Stan Van Gundy would be the head coach next season in Orlando.
New York (28-27) handed Van Gundy’s Magic (32-23) a 96-80 loss on Thursday night. To begin the day, Van Gundy said he heard from top team management officials that Howard has previously requested that he be fired.
Howard denied that he made such demands and after the loss would not talk about the relationship between him and his coach after the game.
With Jeremy Lin out for the season and Amare Stoudemire on the sidelines, Carmelo Anthony added 19 points for the Knicks, along with 15 points apiece from J.R. Smith and Toney Douglas.
“We’re not a real big team in the second unit, so we gotta get up and push the ball, create and kick,” Douglas said. “… It means a lot. Every game is important, especially in our conference. We blew a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter against Indiana. So we played all four quarters tonight. That was the key.”
Orlando has lost five straight games.
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