The Orlando Magic had a chance to finally snap that ugly eight-game losing skid against the New York Knicks on Thursday, up until Reggie Bullock and Alec Burks spoiled their plans in the waning seconds. Down by one point with less than 10 ticks left in regulation, Magic guard Evan Fournier had the ball in his hands for what was supposed to be his team's final possession of the game.
The Frenchman executed the designed pick-and-pop play with teammate Nikola Vucevic but made the grave mistake of leaving his feet after making the pass. Being the hounding defender that he is, Bullock masterfully crowded Fournier's space and made the biggest defensive stop of the night.
Bullock then gave the rock up to a streaking Burks, who managed to evade Magic defenders trying to foul him as he milked the clock.
Here's the brilliant sequence, which improved the Knicks' record to 21-21 and snapped their own two-game slide.
Reggie Bullock comes up with the clutch stop and steal as the @nyknicks hang on to outlast Orlando! pic.twitter.com/9ri0g3ysQ8
— NBA (@NBA) March 19, 2021
Apart from making the game-sealing steal, Bullock also enjoyed one of his best games of the season with 20 points on 6-for-13 shooting from downtown, along with three rebounds, three dimes, and three steals in 36 minutes of action. The defensive-minded swingman has indeed been a favorite in head coach Tom Thibodeau's rotation and a big part of the Knicks' defensive success this season.
Burks also had a fine outing with a double-double of 21 points and 10 boards.
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