The Orlando Magic have covered the spread in 11 of their last 15 games en route to being one of the league’s most profitable teams over the last month. However, they’re entering uncharted territory tonight as 7.5-point favorites on the hallowed floor at Madison Square Garden. New York is coming off a win of its own vs San Antonio on Sunday and is 2-1 SU and ATS in its last three.
Standout Stats
- The Orlando Magic are 11-4 ATS in their last 15 games, but tonight will mark their biggest road favorite position of the season. The Magic didn’t cover as 8-point home faves vs Chicago on Friday, losing 110-109 straight up.
- Orlando hasn’t been a favorite of 7.5 or more on the road since March 6, 2012 and is 0-5 ATS in its previous five games in this spot. The last time they covered 7.5 or more on the road was January 15, 2011 – more than eight years ago.
- The total has gone UNDER in eight of the Knicks’ last 10 home games with an average combined score of 212.7. Additionally, 11 of New York’s last 15 games overall have gone UNDER the total and so have four of the last six games in this matchup. The total is at 216.5 for tonight’s game with early betting on the OVER.
- The Magic have won their last four games at MSG by an average of 16.8 points.
- The Knicks are allowing 51.5 points in the paint per game, fourth-worst in the league. In two games vs New York this year, Orlando’s Nikola Vucevic is scoring an average of 24.5 points per game after averaging 22.0 points per game vs the Knicks last year.
- The Knicks are scoring an average of 103.2 points per game in February and teams are scoring 109.5 points against them. Orlando is holding teams to 101.0 points per game this month and 106.8 this season.
My Best Bet for Magic vs Knicks
Knicks UNDER 104 points
The Knicks team total for this game is 104, just above their average this month of 103.2. However, the 130 points against San Antonio on Sunday does inflate that. In New York’s last 10 games, it has eclipsed 104 points just three times, while Orlando has kept teams below 104 points six times in the last 10 games and to an average of 101 points this month.
The Knicks are one of the worst shooting teams in the NBA while Orlando is one of the better defensive teams and has kept New York to an average of 103 points per game through the first two meetings this season.
