NBA highlights on Feb. 24: Magic, Knicks claim upset victories

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The Orlando Magic claimed a 15-point win at the Scotiabank Arena against the Toronto Raptors 113-98 on Sunday. The New York Knicks also surprised a lot of people by defeating the San Antonio Spurs 130-118, putting an end to their 18 straight losses at home on Sunday night.

Orlando ruins Marc Gasol's first starting game

Terrence Ross #31 of the Orlando Magic dunks in the game in a win against the Toronto Raptors 113-98, February 24, 2019. /VCG Photo

Starting from the bench did not stop Terrence Ross from scoring the court's highest 28 points for Orlando. Nikola Vucevic had a double-double with 23 points and 12 rebounds. D.J. Augustine put down 12 points, five rebounds and eight assists. Aaron Gordon went cold in the game and made only two of his 11 shots to end with seven points, seven rebounds and six assists.

With Kawhi Leonard out due to injury, Kyle Lowry had to step up for Toronto and succeeded in a double-double with 19 points and 10 assists. Pascal Siakam also had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Marc Gasol started his first game for Orlando and ended with 16 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Marc Gasol #33 of the Raptors trying to pass the ball to his teammate Kyle Lowry #7 in the game against the Magic, February 24, 2019. /VCG Photo

The Magic threatened a blowout with a 25-15 lead in the first quarter. Though the Raptors managed to narrow the score difference to three points (53-50) by bouncing back in the second quarter, Orlando continued their fierce offense in the second half. In the fourth quarter alone, Ross scored 11 points to help his team end Toronto's seven-game win streak.

The Raptors still haven't found a solution on offense without Leonard. Lowry is focused more on contributing good efficiency instead of quantity points. Danny Green can shoot, but needs an orchestrator to pass him the ball. Siakam was sharp in transition but so far he's no game changer. Gasol offered what the Raptors needed from him – passing and shooting range – but he's never been known as a good scorer.

Even the Oscars noticed New York's win

Dennis Smith Jr. (C) of the New York Knicks dunks over Jakob Poeltl #42 of the San Antonio Spurs, February 24, 2019. /VCG Photo

Six of New York's players scored double-digit points in the match-up against the Spurs. Damyean Dotson scored the team's high with 27 points. Kevin Knox, Dennis Smith Jr. and Emmanuel Mudiay all had 19 points while Knox (19 points, 10 rebounds) and Smith (19 points, 13 assists) had double-doubles. So did Mitchell Robinson who put down 15 points and 14 rebounds. Lance Thomas also scored 16 points.

Despite the Spurs' scoring, no one could rebound. DeMar DeRozan had the court's best 32 points. The other three starters, LaMarcus Aldridge, Bryn Forbes and Rudy Gay had respectively 18, 15 and 10 points. Backup center Jakob Poeltl scored 12 points.

Spike Lee (L) embraces presenter Samuel Jackson (R) as he wins the "Best Adapted Screenplay" award for "BlacKkKlansman" at the 2019 Oscars, February 24. /VCG Photo

However, there was no way the Spurs could win when they trailed by 6-16 in three-pointers. The team's four major 3-pt shooters – Forbes, Davis Bertans, Patty Miles and Marco Belinelli – in total tried 21 shots from the 3-pt line but made only five of them.

As for the Knicks, who are apparently tanking this season for better draft picks, the victory came as a big surprise, so much so that the news made it to the Oscars stage.

Samuel Jackson broke the news to director Spike Lee, who's also a big Knicks fan, when he was introducing the nominees for Best Adapted Screenplay. "First of all, Spike, I'm so glad you're sitting down. After 18 consecutive home losses, the Knicks won tonight. I repeat the Knicks won tonight, defeating San Antonio 130–118," said Jackson.

The other game on Sunday was between the Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Clippers at the Pepsi Center. Thanks to the two double-doubles of Nikola Jokic (22 points, 16 rebounds) and Paul Millsap (21 points, 16 rebounds), the Nuggets claimed an easy win against the Clippers 123-96 at home.