The New York Knicks came to Orlando to partake in the second act of a day-long drama at Amway Center. The Knicks blew out the Magic, 96-80, as Dwight Howard, coming on the heels of today's remarkable press conference with Stan Van Gundy, disappeared during the game and was simply a non-factor. It was one of the least productive games of his career, as he finished with only eight points and eight rebounds. He was scoreless at the half, and had just two points deep into the fourth quarter. NBA pundits are already concluding that he mailed it in after today's tumult, where Van Gundy admitted that management has told him Howard wants him gone.
With Howard simply not impacting the game, the Magic were not competitive in the second half and New York cruised over the final 10 minutes. The Knicks shot 49 percent from the floor and had five players in double figures. Carmelo Anthony led all scorers with 19 points.
Orlando will now have a day off before playing the Sixers in Philadelphia on Saturday night. There will certainly be more drama between now and then.
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