The New York Knicks (9-5, 4th in Eastern Conference) pay a visit to the surging Orlando Magic (9-7, 8th in East) tonight at the Kia Center (5 ET, NBA TV).
Here are three key storylines to know for tonight’s game.
- Brunson burner heating up: Jalen Brunson returned from a two-game absence with an ankle injury and led the Knicks to a tight 113-111 win over the Mavericks on Wednesday. He put up 28 points on 11-of-23 shooting with three rebounds, five assists, a steal and a block in 35 minutes. Before the injury, Brunson had posted 32 and 31 points in consecutive outings, the latter coming in a 124-107 loss on Nov. 12. Karl-Anthony Towns has stepped up during the absences of Brunson and OG Anunoby (hamstring), entering tonight tied with Nikola Jokić for the league lead in double-doubles (13) after recording his 10th straight with 18 points and 14 rebounds.
- Knicks’ road woes: Winning away from Madison Square Garden has been a challenge for New York. Wednesday’s victory in Dallas bumped them to just 1–4 on the road compared to a dominant 8–1 mark at home to open the 2025–26 season. They’ll look to avenge last week’s loss to Orlando—a game that snapped both their seven-game home win streak and five-game overall streak. At MSG, the Knicks rank first in offensive rating (123.8) and 11th in defensive rating (111.3). On the road, those numbers drop to 112.2 OFFRTG (20th) and 117.5 DEFRTG (19th).
- Orlando beginning to gel: The Magic opened the season 1–4 while ranking 27th in offensive rating (109.4), 23rd in defensive rating (118.3) and 26th in net rating (-8.9). In the 11 games since, they’ve surged to ninth (117.4), fourth (108.5) and eighth (8.9), going 8-3 in that span. A key factor has been the steady improvement of Desmond Bane in his first season with Orlando. Over his first five games, he averaged 17.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.8 assists with rough 43.4 / 26.9 / 93.8 splits and a -11.6 plus-minus. Across his last 11, he’s posted 16.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 42.7 / 35.8 / 91.9 with a +7.1 plus-minus. His numbers aren’t explosive, but he’s settling into his role and helping lift an offense that finished 27th (108.9) in offensive rating last season.
