Knicks come out flat vs. Magic, suffer first home loss of the season

An already tough night for the Knicks got worse when Jalen Brunson injured his ankle in the final minutes of Wednesday’s 124-107 loss to the Orlando Magic.

Brunson’s right ankle appeared to roll awkwardly as he was fouled by Wendell Carter Jr. on a drive to the basket with 1:54 left in regulation. The Knicks were down 115-99 at the time.

Brunson stayed put to make one of two free throws, then fouled out — his sixth — two seconds later and headed straight to the locker room, appearing to limp slightly.

Knicks head coach Mike Brown confirmed Brunson turned his right ankle but had no further updates.

The Athletic reported that Brunson left Madison Square Garden on crutches and walking boots.

“I haven’t talked to him,” Josh Hart said of Brunson’s status. “I don’t know.”

Brunson scored a game-high 31 points before exiting. He had been one of the only bright spots for the Knicks the night they suffered their first home loss of the season.

The loss ended the Knicks’ five-game winning streak and dropped them to 7-1 at the Garden.

Playing on the second night of a back-to-back, the Knicks (7-4) came out flat and never recovered, struggling with the physicality of an Orlando team (6-6) that had the most efficient defense in the Eastern Conference last season.

It was the most lopsided loss of the young season for the Knicks, who had scored at least 130 points in each of the previous three games.

Franz Wagner led the Magic with 28 points on 10-of-22 shooting and nine rebounds, taking over after Paolo Banchero, Orlando’s leading scorer and rebounder, left in the second quarter with a groin strain and did not return.

The Knicks committed six turnovers in the first quarter and nine in the first half, after which they trailed 62-42. They shot just 13 of 39 (33.3%) from the field and 4 of 19 (21.1%) from 3-point range before halftime.

It’s a far cry from Tuesday night’s 133-120 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies, in which the Knicks scored 42 points in the first quarter alone.

Brunson scored 16 points in the first half, but the rest of the Knicks totaled 26 on 9-of-29 shooting.

The Knicks trailed by 21 points before halftime.

They were outscored 32-19 during a second quarter in which Wagner scored 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting, burning the Knicks with a series of nifty layups and a second-chance 3-pointer.

The Knicks made several points in the second half, but every time they seemed to get closer, Orlando responded with a timely basket.

After Landry Shamet’s pull-up cut the Magic’s lead to 75-64 at 5:28 of the third, Carter had a dunk and Wagner made a 3-pointer on consecutive possessions.

Karl-Anthony Towns and Jordan Clarkson made 3-pointers on consecutive possessions early in the fourth quarter, but Orlando’s Anthony Black answered both with floaters.

And just seconds after a Brunson jumper made it 100-91 with 6:04 left in regulation — marking the Knicks’ first single-digit deficit since the second quarter — Jalen Suggs responded with a dagger 3-pointer.

A day after the Knicks set a franchise record with 55 3-point attempts and made 22 of them, they shot just 11 of 36 (30.6%) from 3-point range.

Towns finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds, but other than him and Brunson, no one scored in double figures.

Wednesday’s game served as an early-season litmus test for two Eastern Conference teams with high aspirations.

Armed with an array of recent lottery picks, the Magic made the playoffs two years in a row, but were eliminated in the first round each time.

In an aggressive effort to take the next step, Orlando acquired sharpshooter Desmond Bane from the Grizzlies during the offseason for a package that included four first-round picks.

The big swing made the Magic a trendy pick in the Big East, although they started the season just 1-4 as their new team struggled to gel early on.

But Orlando looked consistent Wednesday as six players scored in double figures, including Bane, who had 22 points, and Black, who added 17 coming off the bench. Banchero finished with four points and four rebounds in 12 minutes before getting excited.

The Knicks had won the first five games of their seven-game homestand before Wednesday’s loss. They will look to finish the home game on a high note Friday night, when they host the Miami Heat.