On Tuesday night, the Orlando Magic and New York Knicks will play for a berth in the NBA Cup quarterfinals.
It might just be a hint of a bigger battle to come between the teams.
The East Group A title and automatic bid to the NBA Cup quarterfinals will be at stake Tuesday, when the Magic visit the Knicks in the first game of the season between a pair of Eastern Conference contenders.
Both teams were off Monday after earning wins Sunday, when the visiting Magic earned their sixth straight win by beating the Brooklyn Nets 100-92 while the host Knicks routed the New Orleans Pelicans 118-85.
The Magic and Knicks set up their clash for the Group A title on Friday, when they both remained 3-0 in Group A play with wins over the Nets and Charlotte Hornets, respectively.
While the Knicks cannot earn one of the two wild-card berths, the Magic will be well-positioned to move on to the quarterfinals barring a lopsided defeat Tuesday.
Orlando will earn a wild card over the Boston Celtics, who finished second in the East Group C, as well as the loser of Tuesday’s Group B battle between the unbeaten Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks as long as the Magic loses by fewer than 37 points or in overtime.
Regardless of what happens Tuesday, the Magic and Knicks appear to be candidates to tussle for a much bigger prize in the spring.
Despite dealing with injuries and inconsistency, Orlando and New York enter Tuesday as the third- and fourth-place teams in the Eastern Conference. The Magic have won 12 of their last 13 without third-year star Paolo Banchero, who hasn’t played since Oct. 30 due to a torn right oblique.
The win Sunday was an encouragingly gritty one for the Magic, which has won nine of its last 12 games by double figures. Orlando led 72-65 late in the third quarter before the Nets took a pair of one-point leads in the fourth.
A 3-pointer by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope snapped an 83-83 tie and began a game-ending 17-9 run for the Magic, which won despite being whistled for a season-high 29 fouls. Brooklyn was called for 31 fouls.
“To be able to withstand whatever was happening throughout the game and not lose our heads — to keep our heads, to keep our cool for the most part, keep our poise — says a lot about the growth of a team that understands what we’re trying to accomplish,” Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley said.
The Knicks are hoping Sunday’s decisive win nudged them closer to finding some much-needed consistency. Mikal Bridges, who was benched in the fourth quarter of Friday’s win over the Hornets, scored 11 unanswered points to cap a 23-1 first-quarter run Sunday by New York, which led the undermanned Pelicans by at least 21 throughout the final three quarters.
Bridges, who was acquired from the Nets on July 6, is one of two new starters for the Knicks, who obtained Karl-Anthony Towns in a three-way trade Oct. 2. In addition, OG Anunoby is in his first full season with New York after he was acquired from the Toronto Raptors last Dec. 30.
The Knicks, who reached the Eastern Conference semifinals last season, have won more than two straight games just once this season.
“It’s a new team, that’s pretty much it,” Bridges said. “Just something we had to adjust to and it’s just going to take time.”
