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Wednesday, Dec. 28
7:00pm
TV: MSG, NBALP
Radio: 1050 ESPN
FINAL SCORE
Knicks - 95
Magic - 105
Box Score
Recap:Grant Hill and the Orlando Magic made it look easy until the final minutes.
Hill contributed on both ends of the floor as the Magic held on for a 105-95 victory over the struggling New York Knicks, who lost for the ninth time in their last 10 games.
Hill had 26 points and five steals to lead Orlando, which led most the way but had to withstand a late rally by New York.
The Knicks used a 14-2 run, capped by Jamal Crawford's 3-pointer with 2:11 remaining, to pull within 100-94. But they got no closer in their latest loss.
With Orlando leading 65-57 in the third quarter, Hill stripped Crawford and finished with a layup capping a 7-0 run at the 6:48 mark.
Orlando took its biggest lead at 89-73 with 9:32 remaining when Dwight Howard dunked over Eddy Curry and sank a free throw to complete a three-point play.
Steve Francis added 17 points and six assists for the Magic, who placed six players in double figures. DeShawn Stevenson finished with 14 points, Tony Battie had 13 and 10 rebounds and Howard and Hedo Turkoglu had 11 points apiece.
Curry had a season-high 29 points on 10-of-17 shooting with nine rebounds. Crawford scored 24 points off the bench with four 3-pointers.
It was a struggle for Knicks leading scorer Stephon Marbury, who missed all seven of his shots and managed just five points.
New York shot 36 percent (31-of-87) and committed 18 turnovers.
