NEW YORK – It took 11 games for the New York Knicks to lose at home in the 2025-26 season. The team left its 7-0 home record and five-game winning streak behind with a 124-107 loss to the Orlando Magic.
The Magic won despite losing Paolo Banchero in the second quarter. Jalen Brunson “turned his ankle,” according to head coach Mike Brown, before committing a foul and removing himself from the game. His 31-point performance made him the only Knick to score more than 15 on Wednesday.
Brown was blunt after the game, particularly during his signature address to begin postgame availabilities. He was discouraged with his team's mentality.
“The thing that I was most disappointed in was, in the first half, everything that happened on the court: we blamed the officials. And that was disappointing to see, because we were the culprits of a lot of the stuff that happened out on the floor.”
The statement from the Knicks' coach did not include any comment on the officiating itself. It just posited that the Knicks were not in a position to complain about calls, or the lack of them, as a team that did not manage what was in their own control.
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This was a problem for New York last season, too. After losing Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Detroit Pistons, several players spoke to an imminent need for improvement. Josh Hart said the team needed to control what they could, adding that he had “responded terribly” thus far. He added that teammate Karl-Anthony Towns also needed to improve his response.
Brunson, the team captain, said the arguments with officials were resulting in a “lack of focus.” He declared that the team needed to focus on their own jobs and let the officials do theirs. The Knicks have 71 games before any potential postseason action, but need Brown's openly scornful approach to this specific issue to take effect soon, especially with Brunson's status in question.
“It doesn't matter how the game is being called if we're locked in and playing how we're capable of. We don't need to rely on the officials making this call or that call, so, our focus in that area was not where it should've been,” the team's new head coach asserted.
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Brown added after the team's fourth loss that Knicks players themselves gave the referees plenty to work with, too.
“Six of [the Magic's] first eight points came from the free throw line. And we fouled 'em. I couldn't even use a challenge because we were fouling,” the coach told reporters after the game. Brown was almost venting, as if the media was to understand, and share, his frustrations.
The 55-year-old coach also expressed displeasure with the conviction his team lacked to start the game. Brown noted that how the Magic started the game was indicative of those shortcomings, referencing the opponent's early free-throw success. The Magic scored four of their first six points there in 23 seconds of game time.
“They came in and they took the game from us, starting with their physicality,” Brown confessed to the media on Wednesday night.
New York let the Magic “feel comfortable with the way they play,” per Brown. After the loss, the team ranked 12th in defensive rating through Wednesday. Their offensive output overall, good for the third-best offensive rating behind the Houston Rockets and Denver Nuggets, has headlined their season.
The extent to which Brunson's injury affects his season, and the Knicks' chances, remains unknown. New York's fans will anxiously await news regarding their superstar's health. Their coach has put the ball in the players' court in terms of the mentality with which they should approach adversity at a potentially fitting time for the sentiment.
“If we're a no-excuse team, we gotta go play the right way, as best we can, and not lay the blame any place else except square on us. So it doesn't matter if we play three games in a row, we got to go figure it out.”
