Lucas and Magic beat Knicks in Isaac's absence

Lucas scores 20 in 84-73 Magic win

ORLANDO, Fla. – With both of their first round draft picks not playing in Wednesday's final match before championship day, the New York Knicks and Orlando Magic were looking elsewhere for production.

Orlando Magic guard Kalin Lucas filled that void in the 84-73 win over the Knicks. 

"I didn't play yesterday," Lucas said. "I just wanted to try and go out there and compete at a high level. I think that pick-and-roll was working. I felt like I just went to push the ball and play and just compete."

With Orlando's Jonathan Isaac previously out with a left hip strain and New York's French-native Frank Ntilikina out with a knee injury, neither team wanted to take chances with their first round draft picks. 

While the Knicks tried to keep up with the Magic's fast paced scoring efforts with a decent performance from their second round pick, shooting guard Damyean Dotson, the Magic kept finding Lucas open for points, with second round Magic draft pick Wesley Iwundu struggling on the court.

Dotson, out of the University of Houston, scored eight points Wednesday in 28 minutes, stealing the ball twice, grabbing four assists and three rebounds.

However, a strong first half by Lucas would put the Magic comfortably ahead of the Knicks, forcing a big New York run early in the second half.

"He played great," Summer League head coach Chad Forcier said of Lucas. "I kind of expected he might have the chance to play well after two days of rest. Coming in with fresh legs hopefully helped him and we wouldn't win without how well he played today."

In the first half, Lucas had played 12 minutes and scored 12 points, stealing the ball twice, getting three assists and matching a game high points per game from earlier in the tournament. Lucas finished the game with 20 points, three steals and seven assists.

"My thing is being here competing and I feel like I'm supposed to be here," Lucas said. "I'm gonna compete and I'm gonna go out and play every single night. I know the caching staff, they know exactly what they are gonna get out of me if I end up being here with the (Magic) or with any team, they know what they gonna get from me."

Iwundu continued to struggle in the summer league, putting up only five points in 24 minutes played. He went two for eight from the field.

With the win, the Magic were able to get to a 2-2 record, placing themselves in a rematch with the Charlotte Hornets (2-2) at 10 a.m.

The Knicks, who finished with a 0-4 record, will play the Miami Heat (0-4) at 8 a.m.


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