Magic 111, Knicks 102: A 40-point fourth quarter leaves the champions 0-3

The Knicks led by 10 with 9:20 left. They finished nine points behind. Orlando's 35-16 closing stretch turned a chance to steady New York's title defense into a 111-102 loss Sunday at Madison Square Garden.

Franz Wagner scored 21 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, when the Magic outscored the Knicks 40-27. He added 13 rebounds and nine assists. New York committed eight of its 14 turnovers in that final period, according to the Associated Press recap carried by NBA.com.

Jalen Brunson scored 28 for the Knicks. Karl-Anthony Towns had 22 points and 14 rebounds, and OG Anunoby scored 22. Orlando made 18 of 42 three-point attempts; New York went 9 of 38. The champions are 0-3. The Magic earned their first victory and are 1-2.

Three games, and a specific problem

Three losses do not establish what the Knicks will be in April. They do establish what needs attention now. A fourth quarter with eight turnovers gives an opponent chances that better shooting alone cannot erase. The concern is specific: New York had a game to close and could not protect it.

The opening losses have come by six points against Philadelphia, four against Boston and nine against Orlando. That is a combined 19-point deficit, not proof of an irreversible collapse. It is also not a reason to dismiss a winless opening as harmless. Detroit visits Tuesday, October 27 at 8 p.m. Eastern.

Compare the team, not just the record

The AP identifies New York as the first defending champion to open 0-3 since the 2011-12 Mavericks. Dallas is a record match, not a clean roster match: Tyson Chandler had left for the Knicks. That team reached 5-5 after 10 games, finished 36-30 in a shortened season and lost in the first round.

Golden State's 2022-23 team offers a different reference. Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green remained, but the Warriors fell to 3-7 after 10 games. They recovered to finish 44-38 and reached the second round. They were 2-1 after three games, so comparing their 10-game record directly with New York's three-game record would be misleading.

Our new tracker keeps those checkpoints separate. It also labels the Lakers' 2002-03 opening as an injury case: Shaquille O'Neal missed the first 12 games after toe surgery. Chicago's post-Jordan breakup belongs outside the main comparison, not among ordinary examples of champions starting slowly.

The question is not whether another champion once struggled. Plenty of different circumstances can produce a bad record. The useful question is whether New York's performance improves as the sample grows. We will track the results through three, five and 10 games, preserving the differences between a returning core, a major absence and a team that no longer exists in its championship form.