The Knicks traveled to Orlando riding the high of a 3-game winning streak, and came crashing back down to Earth as the Ghost of Knicks Past came for a visit in the second half.

Last night the Knicks, winners of five of seven, were the visiting team, but it was they who were visited by spirits. The Ghost of Knicks Present hung around for the first half. That specter’s an alright chap, so things looked peachy keen. Then the Ghost of Knicks Past crashed the second half. That’s when everything fell apart, the center would not hold, all hope was abandoned, etc. New York dropped a 107-89 decision to the Steve Clifford-coached Orlando Magic, a metronome of mediocrity if ever there were.

The Magic seemed an easy mark: the league’s worst-shooting team entered the night, losers of 16 of their last 20, and missing Aaron Gordon, Cole Anthony, and James Ennis. When Nerlens Noel put up a quick six and Julius Randle got off to another hot start with a triplet of triples and a baker’s dozen in the opening quarter, victory seemed a fait accompli. 

But as the Knicks have shown throughout this season, you don’t achieve mediocrity by throwing in the towel. The Magic, sparked by a Michael Carter-Williams 3-point play, went on a 14-4 run to take the lead. Terrence Ross continued the hot shooting we saw from him late in Orlando’s last trip to New York, scoring nine in his first 10 minutes. The home team was hot from 3-point land (eight threes by halftime) while the visitors were not. The Knicks turned the ball over 10 times by the break, nearly their per-game average. And the bench, so often a positive this year — especially since adding Derrick Rose — was a brick house. There are no words to fairly convey how piss-poor the reserves shot in this game. Maybe “ewww”? Yes. Ewww.

One positive, as always, was Randle, who used his midrange and 3-point purity to set up his drives. Seventeen at the half for Julius Caesar. 

Still, the Knicks shot 54% and were up three at the break. What could go wrong?

Remember when one of Randle’s nicknames was The Big Apple Turnover? Remember all those years of Knick backcourts that couldn’t shoot? Of entire Knick teams that couldn’t shoot? They were back with a vengeance in the second half, particularly over a nearly 8-minute stretch bridging the third and fourth quarters when they scored just two points. That’s right. Two.

Meanwhile, Orlando welcomed Evan Fournier back for his first action in 12 days, and he scored 19. Nikola Vučević, All-Star super-fraud, needed 24 shots to net 16 points, while Dwayne Bacon added an efficient 15. The Knicks finished the night making nine more free throws than the Magic. That’s a right fine feat. The Magic finished with nine more threes than the Knicks, a far finer fortune. 

Tom Thibodeau sent an all-bench lineup for the fourth, which on this night was like sending a bucket of chum to a shark prom. RJ Barrett and Elfrid Payton had combined for 28 after three quarters on much better shooting than their bench mates, but Thibs continued his recent trend of reducing RJ’s minutes, and it’s entirely possible he’s only just become aware of Twitter and is responding to the anti-Elf brigade’s months-long lamentations. Ross rendered Thibs’ tinkerings moot.

New York shot 25% in the second half and scored just 33 points. Every team has a few stinkers in them. Hopefully the Knicks crack open a window, air this stench out, and figure out some things. The cancellation of Saturday’s game vs. San Antonio affords them some practice time. May they use it wisely.  

Notes

• I’m not here for anyone naming Vučević or Zach LaVine to the All-Star Game ahead of Randle when both their teams are behind his in the standings. Should that reverse, I reserve the right to argue Randle shouldn’t be penalized for his team’s losing. 

• Payton continued with the aggressive drives and a number of tough finishes. What a long, strange trip it’s been watching him the last two years. Elf is the Knicks’ Peter Sellers.

• Immanuel Quickley threw up some absolutely hopeless garbage floaters. He missed his first 11 shots before the cosmos threw him a bone with a late breakaway dunk.

• Rose with easily his worst shooting game since returning, 1-10. Compared to Rose and IQ, Alec Burks’ 3-9 shooting was a cheat code of pinpoint accuracy.

• Obi Toppin had an impressive solo defensive showing against Vučević, blocking the life out of one of his shots. Toppin followed that with a three. In a game where the Knicks needed a spark and were down double digits most of the second half, just 12 minutes for the Knicks’ lottery pick.

• Speaking of native New Yorker lottery picks languishing on the bench, Harlem’s Mo Bamba had four points, five boards and two blocks in 10 minutes. 

• MSG trivia: Carmelo Anthony scored 40-plus points 17 times as a Knick. Since 2000, who has the second-most such games?

• Because my brain is my brain, I often hear “Dwayne Bacon” and think of Desmond Mason. If you don’t know who Desmond Mason was, you’re welcome.

• The Knicks wore their regular old blue and orange road jerseys, and they were so beautiful to my tired-of-alternate-unis eyes I nearly wept.

• Mike Breen spitting some education: he said the reason college basketball went to the possession arrow for tie-ups rather than jump balls is because of how bad the refs were at tossing jump balls. 

• Trivia answer: Stephon Marbury scored 40-plus five times as a Knick.

Quoth my fiancee, who’d seen the final score before I did: “Sorry, babe.” This was a very annoying game to sit through, at least for the second half. The Ghost of Knicks Future points to Sunday for their next game, home vs. Minnesota. Will the Knicks redeem themselves the way ol’ Ebenezer Scrooge did? Tune in then.