Granted, that wasn't the formula for most of the first ten games, which were far more schizophrenic (fall behind 20 to 30 points, then slice into the lead late in the game with huge but futile runs), so I guess it's progress that the Knicks are settling into a more predictable pattern. This game most resembled the game at home against the Hawks in November, where the team likewise looked good for a half and then was overpowered by superior athletes in the 3rd quarter. A team with aspirations of lurching for that 8th seed needs to win these types of games at home once in a while, but it seems the Knicks are sinking fast enough at this point that those aspirations are purely theoretical.

Some game notes:

* Statistical oddity: both teams shot an identical 42 for 83 on two point FGs. Even odder: the Magic shot many more 3s than the Knicks did, shooting 13 for 38, while the Knicks managed 9 out of 23. This wasn't a complete surprise, since the Magic are neck and neck with New York for threes attempted (27.4 three-pointers attempted/game, second to the Knicks' league leading 28.6), and the team has many good shooters for their 4 out-1 in offense, but it still felt weird watching a Knick opponent chuck so many from outside while the home team was the picture of restraint. Of course, part of this can be explained by Orlando's defense, which made it their mission to contest the Knick jumpers, but part of it was also the Knicks' early success with the pick and roll and ability to pick up an early foul on Howard, meaning they went inside early and often.

* The Magic were supposed to be the far more exhausted team and ripe for the picking, having played 4 games in 5 nights, and it looked that way early as the Knicks led for much of the first half. Assistant Kenny Atkinson said in a halftime interview that the coaches pushed on the Knicks to step up the pace on the tired team in the 3rd quarter, but instead they came out relatively flat and had little offense once the Magic locked up the pick and roll. Rashard Lewis and Mickael Pietrus got hot and the Knicks seemed a step slow (yet again) on rotations as the Magic gradually built their lead.

*  D'Antoni played a much tighter rotation of 8 players in an attempt to limit his near-libertine attempts throughout this season to find a lineup that can compete consistently. There were still some lineup oddities, however, because of foul trouble caused by the strategy of hacking Howard anytime he got near the basket, as well as a truly wretched shooting night for Larry Hughes (1 for 9) which limited his playing time. Harrington picked up two quick fouls and never seemed to find the groove he had in Denver (and the Knicks pretty much need Al to be on in order to put pressure on the other team, as limited as their offense is), and Lee flirted with foul trouble as well. 

The oddest lineup ended up playing most of the 4th quarter: Nate, Lee, Harrington, Chandler and Jeffries. The inclusion of Jeffries was maybe the most peculiar, but it was presumably driven by defensive concerns -- I still would have rather seen Gallinari in place of Jeffries, because it became clear quickly that a lineup of three bad defensive players and two OK ones didn't work too well in getting stops.

*  The odd lineup was bailed out on offense by Nate, who played his best game in months with 24 points, including 20 in a row from the time the score was 84-73 to the time the score reached 106-95. Every long jumper was dead on, and most encouragingly, Nate successfully ran his own variation on the pick and roll by getting a great pass in to Lee from the left elbow after starting a drive, and then twice popping into the lane for short jumpers on the roll (a weapon not in Duhon's repertoire). You'll notice, though, that the lead didn't really budge during that spectacular scoring streak -- it was cut to 92-86 at one point, but after that, the Magic scored on 8 of 10 possessions (and it should have been nine, except Carter missed 2 free throws). An old and all too familiar Knick problem.

*  Both teams shot well and didn't turn the ball over much, but the Knicks got only three (yes, three) offensive rebounds, and got killed on the boards, 47-37. As is customary, they got to the foul line infrequently, with 13 FT attempts to 31 for the Magic. While this is distorted to some degree by Howard's 15 FTs, it nevertheless outlined the stark disparity between the two teams' strength inside.

*  Chris Duhon had his best game of the season offensively, shooting 5 for 6 and getting 9 assists with 2 turnovers. Some of this was the Magic's very indifferent defense the first half, which gave him tons of space to operate, but it was still nice see him pick it up. This made it all the more peculiar that D'Antoni actually kept his minutes to a very reasonable 32. I'd like to see Duhon getting this kind of usage more often, to give more opportunities to Nate and Douglas, and keep Duhon fresh. This game might have been an anomaly, though, and with the continuation of the tough schedule, I have a feeling the coach may return to 36 to 40 minute stints  for him as long as he's healthy.

*  The formerly 1 and 15 Timberwolves ended Denver's home winning streak last night after spotting the Nuggets a 17 point lead, meaning even the extremely modest glow from the Knicks' moral victory on Friday didn't last long. Not a good night for the Knicks.

* Phoenix comes to MSG on Tuesday, followed by a return engagement with Orlando on Wednesday at their place. The Magic outside of Rashard were pretty sloppy and indifferent in this game, and still dispensed with the Knicks pretty easily. The next game at Amway could get really ugly, coming on the heels of a (likely) emotional game against the Suns.