Franz Wagner scored 21 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter Sunday night for the visiting Orlando Magic, who overcame a 10-point deficit in the final nine-plus minutes to beat the defending NBA champion New York Knicks 111-102.
The Knicks fell to 0-3 — the first time a reigning champ has opened 0-3 since the Dallas Mavericks in 2011-12.
Wagner (13 rebounds, nine assists) came within one assist of a triple-double for the undermanned Magic, who improved to 1-2 despite the absence of Paolo Banchero, who is expected to miss at least a month with an ankle injury suffered in Friday’s 115-93 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
But the Magic may have suffered another loss late Sunday, when starting point guard Jalen Suggs was helped off the court with an apparent right knee injury suffered after he landed awkwardly on a layup attempt with 2:09 left.
Desmond Bane scored 22 points and hit the 3-pointer that gave the Magic the lead for good with 4:53 left.
Tristan da Silva (19 points) and Anthony Black (18 points) got into double figures off the bench for the Magic. Black made his season debut after missing the first two games with a right ankle injury.
Karl-Anthony Towns (22 points, 14 rebounds) posted a double-double for the Knicks while Jalen Brunson scored a game-high 28 points. OG Anunoby scored 22. Josh Hart added 13 points.
The Knicks opened the game on a 12-0 run, during which the Magic were 0-for-8 from the field with two turnovers. Orlando tied the game once in the second and got within one point three times in the third before falling behind 86-76 on Anunoby’s floater with 9:20 left.
Wagner then scored nine points in an 11-0 run, including the old-fashioned 3-point play that gave the Magic its first lead with 7:25 left. Hart answered with a 3-pointer and the teams traded empty trips before Wagner hit two layups to put Orlando ahead again.
Towns’ dunk tied the score at 91-91 with 5:12 left, but Bane drained a 3-pointer to open a 7-0 run. Brunson cut the deficit to 98-94 by hitting a layup with 2:42 remaining, but Wagner put back his own miss on the next trip down the floor and the Magic led by as least six the rest of the way.
