Darko starts as Magic rout Knicks

After being late for shootaround, DHoward found himself not starting for the first time in his career, as Darko replaced him at PF. As it turned out, both players, especially Dwight, had outstanding games as the Magic bounced back from last night's embarrassing loss to CHA to rout NY 111-87 in Steve Francis's return.

Seven players scored in double figures for the Magic, led by Dwight (23 pts 7 rebs in 22 minutes off the bench). HTurkoglu (16 pts), JNelson (13 pts 6 assists 0 TOs), Darko (13 pts 7 rebs 4 blocks in 31 minutes), and KDooling (11 pts 9 assists) all played well. Steve-O's return was nothing short of a bust, as he scored a mere 2 pts with 3 TOs in just around 10 minutes of play. Five players scored in double figures for the Knicks, led by C Eddy Curry (15 pts).

The Magic dominated every aspect of the game. They outscored NY from the field 88-65 on 51.2% shooting. NY shot 47.6%. The Magic outscored NY from the FT line 23-22 on 85.2% shooting. NY shot 75.9% from the line. The Magic outrebounded the Knicks 40-32, and had a sparkling assist-to turnover ratio of 22-8, while the Knicks had an awful ratio of 12-21. Magic bench outscored NY's bench 53-45.

The Magic played like they are capable of playing. They shot the ball well from the field and the FT line, rebounded well, passed the ball well, and took care of the ball. Granted, it came against a train wreck of a team, but at least it showed the Magic can play like they care and can bounce back after a horrible loss.