Gallinari Displays True Grit in Loss to Magic

There was a moment late in the first half when it looked like Danilo Gallinari would be joining the Knicks’ long injury list. The second-year forward had tried to strip the Magic’s Marcin Gortat off a rebound but walked away holding his right shoulder instead of the ball.

But New York caught a break.   

Although it looked initially like Gallinari was in extreme pain, the sophomore stud was back on the court in the second half and didn’t skip a beat, scoring 11 of his 28 points in the third quarter to help the Knicks rally from a big deficit before dropping a 118-103 decision in Orlando on Friday night.   

“After I warmed up again, I was feeling good,” Gallinari told MSG.   

With Wilson Chandler and Al Harrington out for the season and Tracy McGrady continuing his recovery from knee surgery, Gallinari was once again the Knicks’ go-to guy on offense. Two games after setting his career high with 31 points in a win over Boston, he carried New York in a shootout against Orlando.   

Sore shoulder and all, Gallinari went 5-for-10 from beyond the arc in a matchup that featured a combined 31 3-pointers between the two squads. The Knicks surpassed their previous record of 26 combined 3-pointers and the teams tied the NBA record for most 3-pointers made in a regulation game.   

The Knicks shot 16-for-33 from 3-point range, while the Magic went 15-for-32.   

Gallinari’s big performance in the second half helped the Knicks rally back from 24 points down to make it a single-digit game in the fourth quarter. But the Magic were too difficult to stop down the stretch, especially with the Knicks’ frontcourt playing with foul trouble for most of the final period.   

“A couple times we tried to get up there, but then they turned it on a little bit,” Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni said. “You have to give them credit because they’re a really good team and challenging for a championship.”   

Chris Duhon had 13 points, five assists and four rebounds, while Sergio Rodriguez scored 13 off the bench. David Lee fell shy of his 52nd double-double of the season with 11 points and seven boards.   

Gallinari is ending his second year in the NBA on a scoring tear, averaging 22.8 points over his last five games.   

“We are trying to develop the young guys and make sure they get good experience,” D’Antoni said. “Every game is meaningful and we try to get down to the end when you can win or lose games. We want our young guys to get experience, and I think they’re doing that.”