Jalen Brunson returned and drove a steamroller over MSG’s surging team.
Brunson, who missed the last tournament due to a knee contusion, gave up 26 points as the Knicks defeated the Magic 98-74 on Friday, but it was an easy victory that highlighted his overwhelming defense.
This was the fewest points allowed by the Knicks since 2012.
The Knicks (37-26), whose OG Anunoby will soon return from elbow surgery, snatched fourth place in the East from the Magic (37-27), whose winning streak ended at five.
Branson’s influence was immediate.
He scored 10 points in the first quarter as the Knicks held a 21-9 advantage within seven minutes.
The lead was 14 points at halftime, but it had ballooned to 26 points at the end of the third quarter.
The Magic are 3-0 against the Knicks this season, but never once led.
Orlando shot just 34 percent overall and 23 percent from beyond the arc.
The Knicks’ heroes besides Brunson were clearly Precious Achiuwa (15 points, 14 rebounds in 39 minutes) and Josh Hart (19 points, seven rebounds, four assists in 42 minutes).
Miles McBride added 14 points off the bench in the wire-to-wire win.
Hart’s energy in the first half, accompanied by enthusiastic shouts and celebrations, pushed the Knicks forward for long stretches.
His putback dunk with about three minutes left in the fourth electrified the crowd and capped off his latest “All Heart” performance.
Brunson missed the previous game with a knee contusion and missed all but 47 seconds of Sunday’s win at Cleveland as Knicks fans were also injured.
So basically Brunson took five days for the bruise to heal, and the rest looked good for the 27-year-old.
He made 11 of 19 in just 29 minutes and had a game-high four treys. His night again ended with chants of “MVP” from the stands.
Without their best perimeter defender in Jalen Suggs (thigh contusion), the Magic had no answer.
The Magic enter tonight against the Celtics as the only East team the Knicks have yet to beat this season.
Orlando and New York also enter the night as the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds in the East, respectively, and could be potential playoff opponents.
“It’s going to be interesting to see how everything goes,” said Magic All-Star Paolo Banchero, who finished with 23 points Friday. “I don’t know how we’re going to get through these last (19) games because it’s a very close race from fourth to eighth. But there’s definitely a chance we could play them. We could be in a playoff series here. That would be great.”
Banchero destroyed the Knicks last time out, dropping 36 points on Valentine’s Day in Orlando, then telling the swarm of visiting fans to “go home.” On Friday, Banchero told the Post that silencing Knicks fans was key to countering the disrespect felt at his arena. …When they come to Orlando, sometimes I have to give them a ride home. ”
But he wasn’t too focused on getting wins against a depleted roster.
“I think we were able to match their physicality, and that’s the important thing. They’re one of the most physical teams in the league. I think we can match that too.” Banchero said the Magic have won the first three games against the Knicks this season. “I also think they were a lot more beaten down than when we played them. I don’t think we played their full roster.”
In fact, the Magic have only faced the Knicks this season without at least one of Brunson, Julius Randle or OG Anunoby injured.
On Friday, Randle and Anunoby were again DNPs.
That’s all Brunson needed to play and beat the Magic.
