If the Orlando Magic (32-19) came to Wednesday night’s game with the mentality that the New York Knicks (26-25) wouldn’t come to play due to the absence of both forward Amare Stoudemire and point guard Jeremy Lin from their lineup, then their 108-86 defeat might have been well deserved.

Despite sporting the third best record in the Eastern Conference, and also fifth in the league, this was not the first or even second time this season that the Magic were the victims of an old-fashioned beatdown where they were simply just run out of the gym. New Orleans, Boston, and Chicago have also embarrassed Orlando this season, and they looked nothing like a team who had won three straight entering the contest.

“We got behind, they hit a lot of shots, they got us down,” said Magic coach Stan Van Gundy. “And then we just sort of died. We didn’t do anything we had talked about doing. We played with no energy. We were very individual at the offensive end. And not much effort.”

Lin and Stoudemire were both inactive for a second consecutive game with a sore left knee and bulging back disk, respectively. While Lin’s injury has been classified as minor, it was announced earlier in the day that Stoudemire would miss the next two to four weeks, with surgery unnecessary.

Carmelo Anthony knew he would have to step up for New York, even though he was dealing with a minor groin injury of his own. He had no problem doing so, scoring a game high 25 points on 9/15 shooting. Anthony had a solid all-around game, adding six rebounds and five assists as well.

With 25 of his own, rookie teammate Iman Shumpert equaled Anthony’s point outpoint and also recorded a new career high in doing so. “Right now, with the coaching change, we’ve been playing extremely well,” said Anthony. “Guys seem to be responding pretty well. We’ve been really locked in on our mission right now.”

A thrashing by the Knicks did not seem likely early on, as Magic point guard Jameer Nelson’s 11 first quarter points, which led both sides, helped his team attain a 29-25 lead going into the second.

Nelson went 7/14 overall and was the Magic’s top scorer with 17. Steve Novak’s jumper with 9:41 remaining in the second would conclude a 6-0 Knicks run to open the second, giving them their first lead of the night at 31-29. After Orlando tied the game with a bucket on the next possession, New York went on a 7-0 run, establishing a 47-38 lead thanks to a lay-in by Anthony at the 2:26 mark.

Two free throws from Magic center Dwight Howard ended the run at 12-0 with 38.5 seconds remaining in the half, but a Novak three at the buzzer – his third of the half – gave the Knicks a commanding 57-41 lead entering the locker room. Howard was essentially a non-factor in the ball game, scoring 12 points and bringing down just five boards.

Novak made four of eight three’s in almost 23 and a half minutes of play, putting up 16 points. They may lead the league in both three pointers attempted and made, but the Magic were shut down in this one, going 9/26 from behind the arc. After making eight three’s in Orlando’s last game, forward Ryan Anderson hit just one in this one, scoring a mere three points.

When everyone thought that the Knicks could not outdo a 32-12 second quarter, they did. It started with 8:45 shown on the third quarter clock. The Knicks went ahead 69-49 on a floater by backup point guard Baron Davis. Between that time and Shumpert’s jumper with 2:58 left they ripped off 21 unanswered.

Shell-shocked, the Magic found themselves trailing 90-59 before taking the floor for the final quarter. They were able to cut the deficit down to 15 with 2:10 left to play, but the Knicks held on easily, 108-86. Orlando shot just 44.8% from the field, and allowed New York to shoot 50.9%.

“It should be frustrating for everybody,” said Howard. “We just have to step up and play the right way, and when we don’t, we have games like this.”

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With just a 34 point output in the second half and a huge fourth quarter by Dwyane Wade, the Orlando Magic – who hold the third-best record in the Eastern Conference (29-17) – fell to the current second seed in the East, the Miami Heat (33-11), in south Florida on Sunday night, 91-81.

“We have to do a better job of not turning the ball over,” said Magic center Dwight Howard, who led the team with 18 points and 11 rebounds. “That’s what gave them a chance to get out early, get the lead and keep the lead. We’ve just got to do a better job. It’s the small things that are going to matter in a game like this.”

Orlando turned the ball over 20 times against a Heat team that has proven to be one of the best defensive units in the league over the past two seasons.

Along with being less than thrilled about the extraordinary amount of turnovers his team committed, Magic coach Stan Van Gundy also took the defensive intensity of his players at the outset of the game into question.

“Our effort defensively early in the game was not there,” said Van Gundy. “We did not come to play. That’s inexcusable particularly playing on the road against a team this good and then the 20 turnovers.”

Miami came out smoking in the first quarter with 31 points, and had totaled 50 before halftime. Forward Chris Bosh’s team high 18 points in the first half on 7/9 shooting was a key component in the Heat’s 53% first half shooting percentage.

Despite shooting only 41% over the first 24 minutes, Orlando found themselves only down by three entering the locker room after a difficult three point play down the right baseline by Wade untied the game with 48 seconds left in the second quarter.

Wade led all Miami scorers at the game’s conclusion with 31 points. He tallied six rebounds and four assists, as well.

Forward Quentin Richardson, guard Jason Richardson, and Nelson all finished in double-figured scoring for the Magic.

After playing from behind since losing an early 7-6 lead, Orlando finally found themselves in the driver’s seat, 57-54, with 8:26 remaining in the third when an interception of a ball Bosh saved from going out of bounds, turned into a fastbreak opportunity and a three point play on the other end for guard Jason Richardson.

Orlando scored just nine points on the break, but did a quality job of limiting Miami’s transition game, which they excel at with athletes like James and Wade. The Heat had only 13 points in the open court.

But Miami made sure to take away Orlando’s strength as well – the three pointer. The Magic, who attempt and make more three’s than any other team in basketball, shot just 9/25, 36% from behind the arc.

The teams were abysmal in the third quarter, shooting a combined 13/40 from the floor. A LeBron James bank shot, with .8 left in the period, gave the Heat a 67-63 lead entering the fourth.

With just 14 points overall, James had a relatively quiet night as far as scoring was concerned. However, he still had a major impact with 12 boards and seven assists.

The Heat went on an 11-2 run that ended around the four minute mark and outscored the Magic 24-18 in the final quarter to hold on rather comfortably for their 13th consecutive home win. Only the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 14 game home winning streak has bettered Miami’s current run this season.

Wade was unstoppable over the final minutes, dropping 12 in a row at one point, and 14 of his 31.

“I don’t think (Wade) ever had a bad game against us,” said Van Gundy. “Every game he’s played it’s been a great game. We never do a decent job on him.”

Miami and Orlando split the season series two games apiece.

The Heat will look to continue their winning ways at home when they host the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night.

The Magic are right back at it on Monday night, as the team with the best record in the league, the 37-10 Chicago Bulls, pay a visit.

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For most of the season it seemed like there was a fairly strong possibility that Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard would actually be wearing a red New Jersey Nets uniform, playing the role of villain when the teams met on March 16 at the Amway Center – one day after the trade deadline – as opposed to continuing on as the Magic’s star, leading them to a comfortable 86-70 victory.

Howard shocked the basketball world on Thursday with his decision to remain under contract with Orlando through next season, and proceeded to follow it up with an 18 point, 6 rebound effort against New Jersey, the team many believed to be the frontrunner in acquiring his services before the deadline.

“I don’t think anyone asked me any questions about trades, so that part is over with,” said Howard about the season-long situation after the win.

Forward Glen Davis and point guard Jameer Nelson each chipped in 13 points as Orlando’s second leading scorers behind Howard. Forward Ryan Anderson’s 12 point night made him the team’s next highest point man, followed by forward Hedo Turkoglu and shooting guard Jason Richardson, who both added 10.

Howard scored 10 of his 18 in the first quarter on a perfect 5/5 from the field. He would then only take two shots in the second quarter, missing both and going scoreless for the remainder of the half.

A 3/3 second half with two made free throws gave him his final 8 points on 8/10 shooting.

New Jersey was considerably banged up, as All Star point guard Deron Williams sat out for the fourth straight game with a sore right calf, along with backup guard Jordan Farmar, suffering from a strained right groin, and center Brook Lopez, who has been unavailable since March 4 with a sprained right ankle.

The Magic certainly took advantage of New Jersey’s health issues, never trailing the rest of the way after falling behind 2-0 in the early moments.

Orlando took an 11-4 lead with a 7-0 run that concluded with 7:41 remaining in the first quarter. They ended the quarter with a 22-18 lead. A 12-2 run extended the lead to double digits, 43-29, with 2:57 left in the half.

Jameer Nelson’s three pointer with 2.1 to go in the half ended a 7-0 Nets run, making it a 46-36 score in favor of Orlando at halftime.

Nets guard/forward Gerald Green, who is on his second 10-day contract with the team, went 6/9 from the floor and led them with 14 points total, half of which came on 3/3 shooting in the first quarter.

A 21-11 scoring stretch by the Magic in the third quarter stretched their lead all the way out to 20 at 67-47, their largest of the night.

The Nets were able to make the score manageable when a long alley-oop pass from forward Deshaun Stevenson accidentally banked into the basket for a three pointer during the final seconds of the third and cut the lead to 72-60 entering the fourth. It was easily one of the most bizarre three pointers ever witnessed.

But the Magic never allowed the Nets to creep any closer than 12 points in the final period, and they coasted toward an 86-70 win.

“I was happy,” said Magic coach Stan Van Gundy about his team’s overall performance. “I thought we did a good job on their starters. Their bench guys, Gerald Green got going, but I was fairly happy with our defense. The only thing I was unhappy with honestly was the 20 turnovers … again, just mindless.”

The Nets now sit at 15-30 following the loss, but just a reasonable five and a half games behind the Milwaukee Bucks for the eighth and final playoff seed in the East. They will host the New Orleans Hornets on Saturday night.

As for The Magic, they are now third in the East with a 29-16 record. They will make their way to Miami for a Sunday night matchup against the Heat, who they have beaten two out of three times this season, including this past Tuesday, 104-98, and trail by only four games in the standings.

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