Kristie Ackert, USA TODAY Mon, October 26, 2026 at 1:55 AM UTC · 1 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The New York Knicks led by eight points with 8:40 left Sunday night at Madison Square Garden. Then the defending NBA champions watched another one slip away.
The Orlando Magic closed on a 33-16 run to beat the Knicks, 111-102 , dropping New York to 0-3. The Knicks are the first defending NBA champions to lose their first three games since the 2011-12 Dallas Mavericks .
Those Mavericks lost their opener to the Miami Heat , the team they had beaten in the Finals six months earlier. Then they dropped games to Denver and Oklahoma City before beating Toronto.
Orlando did it without its best player. Paolo Banchero sat out with an ankle injury, and Jonathan Isaac was also out.
The Magic made 18 3-pointers. The Knicks made nine on 38 attempts.
Jalen Brunson finished with 28 points on 12-of-28 shooting. OG Anunoby added 22. Orlando's bench outscored New York's 47-11.
A general view as the New York Knicks World Champions banner is raised during the Ring Ceremony prior to the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 20, 2026 in New York City. The NBA picked the right game to headline an opening night slate with the New York Knicks welcoming the Philadelphia 76ers to Madison Square Garden.LeBron James begins a new era as he suits up for a Sixers squad with high aspirations. Leaving behind Hollywood for the bright lights of Philadelphia also means a great big spotlight on championship expectations.The Knicks come in rare form, as the defending champions. While Tuesday will be a celebration of last year's triumph, the first game will go a long way to answer if they are ready to go back-to-back since the Golden State Warriors did so in 2017 and 2018. (Sarah Stier, Getty Images) Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the New York Knicks speaks with Josh Hart #3 during the Ring Ceremony prior to the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 20, 2026 in New York City. (Sarah Stier, Getty Images) Jose Alvarado of the New York Knicks reacts after receiving his ring during the Ring Ceremony prior to the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 20, 2026 in New York City. (Sarah Stier, Getty Images) Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks speaks with Rick Brunson during the Ring Ceremony prior to the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden. (Sarah Stier, Getty Images) Head coach Mike Brown of the New York Knicks looks on with Chris Jent and Rick Brunson during the Ring Ceremony prior to the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 20, 2026 in New York City. (Sarah Stier, Getty Images) The New York Knicks react during the Ring Ceremony prior to the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden. (Sarah Stier, Getty Images) Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks inspects his ring during the Ring Ceremony prior to the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden on October 20, 2026 in New York City. (Sarah Stier, Getty Images) A detailed view of the New York Knicks Champions Night t-shirts prior to the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 20, 2026 in New York City. (Sarah Stier, Getty Images) Fans gather outside of Madison Square Garden for the NBA season opener between the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks in New York City on Oct. 20, 2026. (David Dee Delgado, REUTERS) Fans inside Madison Square Garden look at the Knicks travel bus prior to the NBA season opener between the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks in New York City on Oct. 20, 2026. The game features LeBron James' first regular-season appearance with the 76ers and includes a championship banner-raising ceremony honoring the Knicks' previous season title. (David Dee Delgado, REUTERS) 1 / 10 New York Knicks honor their NBA title with banner and ring ceremony A general view as the New York Knicks World Champions banner is raised during the Ring Ceremony prior to the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 20, 2026 in New York City. The NBA picked the right game to headline an opening night slate with the New York Knicks welcoming the Philadelphia 76ers to Madison Square Garden.LeBron James begins a new era as he suits up for a Sixers squad with high aspirations. Leaving behind Hollywood for the bright lights of Philadelphia also means a great big spotlight on championship expectations.The Knicks come in rare form, as the defending champions. While Tuesday will be a celebration of last year's triumph, the first game will go a long way to answer if they are ready to go back-to-back since the Golden State Warriors did so in 2017 and 2018. (Sarah Stier, Getty Images) 1 / 10 New York Knicks honor their NBA title with banner and ring ceremony A general view as the New York Knicks World Champions banner is raised during the Ring Ceremony prior to the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 20, 2026 in New York City. The NBA picked the right game to headline an opening night slate with the New York Knicks welcoming the Philadelphia 76ers to Madison Square Garden.LeBron James begins a new era as he suits up for a Sixers squad with high aspirations. Leaving behind Hollywood for the bright lights of Philadelphia also means a great big spotlight on championship expectations.The Knicks come in rare form, as the defending champions. While Tuesday will be a celebration of last year's triumph, the first game will go a long way to answer if they are ready to go back-to-back since the Golden State Warriors did so in 2017 and 2018. (Sarah Stier, Getty Images) 2 / 10 New York Knicks honor their NBA title with banner and ring ceremony Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the New York Knicks speaks with Josh Hart #3 during the Ring Ceremony prior to the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 20, 2026 in New York City. (Sarah Stier, Getty Images) 3 / 10 New York Knicks honor their NBA title with banner and ring ceremony Jose Alvarado of the New York Knicks reacts after receiving his ring during the Ring Ceremony prior to the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 20, 2026 in New York City. (Sarah Stier, Getty Images) 4 / 10 New York Knicks honor their NBA title with banner and ring ceremony Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks speaks with Rick Brunson during the Ring Ceremony prior to the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden. (Sarah Stier, Getty Images) 5 / 10 New York Knicks honor their NBA title with banner and ring ceremony Head coach Mike Brown of the New York Knicks looks on with Chris Jent and Rick Brunson during the Ring Ceremony prior to the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 20, 2026 in New York City. (Sarah Stier, Getty Images) 6 / 10 New York Knicks honor their NBA title with banner and ring ceremony The New York Knicks react during the Ring Ceremony prior to the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden. (Sarah Stier, Getty Images) 7 / 10 New York Knicks honor their NBA title with banner and ring ceremony Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks inspects his ring during the Ring Ceremony prior to the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden on October 20, 2026 in New York City. (Sarah Stier, Getty Images) 8 / 10 New York Knicks honor their NBA title with banner and ring ceremony A detailed view of the New York Knicks Champions Night t-shirts prior to the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 20, 2026 in New York City. (Sarah Stier, Getty Images) 9 / 10 New York Knicks honor their NBA title with banner and ring ceremony Fans gather outside of Madison Square Garden for the NBA season opener between the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks in New York City on Oct. 20, 2026. (David Dee Delgado, REUTERS) 10 / 10 New York Knicks honor their NBA title with banner and ring ceremony Fans inside Madison Square Garden look at the Knicks travel bus prior to the NBA season opener between the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks in New York City on Oct. 20, 2026. The game features LeBron James' first regular-season appearance with the 76ers and includes a championship banner-raising ceremony honoring the Knicks' previous season title. (David Dee Delgado, REUTERS) Franz Wagner had 23 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists for the Magic. Tristan da Silva added 19.
The Magic also had been winless coming into the game.
The close losses keep piling up for the Knicks. They lost by six to Philadelphia and four at Boston, where Jayson Tatum scored 36 and hit the 3-pointer with 30.3 seconds left that ended it.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Knicks stumble again as defending champs start 0-3 after loss to Orlando Magic
Source: Sports
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