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Fred Jones and David Lee added 13 points each for the Knicks, who won for just the third time in 20 games. The other two victories were against Miami, making this their first win over a team other than the league-worst Heat since beating Charlotte on Feb. 27.
Following an 0-5 road trip, the Knicks played at home for the first time since hiring Donnie Walsh as president of basketball operations last Wednesday. Walsh was not at the game, and Isiah Thomas refused to say if they have spoken yet about the coach's future with the organization.
Hedo Turkoglu scored 22 points for the Magic, who will now have the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. After winning at Cleveland on Saturday, the Magic seemed to run out of gas late in this one after trailing by two with 8 1/2 minutes left.
Jones followed with a 3-pointer and Chandler had consecutive buckets in a 9-0 run that gave the Knicks an 82-71 lead, and they went on to beat Orlando for the first time in four meetings this season.
Dwight Howard had 13 points and 15 rebounds for his 66th double-double of the season, tops in the NBA and two shy of Shaquille O'Neal's franchise record set in 1992-93.
Notes: The Knicks showed a video of Patrick Ewing's career highlights during a timeout in the second quarter. Ewing, the Knicks' career scoring leader and now a Magic assistant coach, will learn Monday if he is inducted into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. ... Thomas spent three years working under Walsh in Indiana, coaching the Pacers from 2000-03, and hopes he has another chance. "That will be his decision, but yeah, I hope that's the case," Thomas said. "Whatever role, my job is to work with Donnie and I'm happy to be working with him, and again we had a nice thing going in Indiana that was interrupted, and I think that given the opportunity we could have a nice thing here." ... A fan ran onto the court with Turkoglu shooting free throws in the fourth quarter, coming from behind one basket and running the length of the floor and into the seats behind the other one before security finally caught him.
[Associated Press; By BRIAN MAHONEY]
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