Knicks come out flat in 110-104 loss to lowly Magic

A total letdown.

The Knicks were playing at home against one of the worst teams in the NBA, two days after pummeling that same Orlando Magic squad on the road. They led for much of the first three quarters and by as many as 13 points, feeling like they’d leave the weekend as the only undefeated team in the stacked Atlantic Division.

But then…dud.  A 110-104 defeat Sunday that both Tom Thibodeau and Julius Randle blamed on poor energy.

“We have to do a lot better,” Thibodeau said. “All of us.”

Added Randle: “They played harder than us. It’s pretty simple.”

The Magic’s lone healthy veteran, Terrence Ross, torched RJ Barrett while scoring all 22 of his points in the fourth quarter. And as New York still waits for Kemba Walker’s impressive homecoming moment (he scored 10 points in 19 minutes Sunday), Queens product Cole Anthony was fantastic for Orlando while lighting up MSG for 29 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists.

Anthony, the son of former Knick Greg Anthony, said he was motivated by revenge after the Knicks blasted Orlando by 26 points on Friday.

“Oh yeah, most definitely,” he said. “They kind of came to our home and beat us in that game. So we had to come back and retaliate. We’re not going to just keel over and let them do the same thing again.”

The Knicks fell to 2-1 and wasted a gimme game. They missed 31 of their 42 treys, two days after they set the franchise record for 3-pointers in a single game with 24 makes.

Julius Randle and RJ Barrett gave flashbacks to last season’s playoff disappointment, combining to shoot 13-for-41. Randle still stuffed the boxscore with 30 points and 16 boards but his decisions with the ball were off. Only Derrick Rose contributed a solid offensive night with 23 points in 29 minutes.

“We got good shots from what I felt out there on the court,” Randle said. “We didn’t make shots.”

Poor shooting nights are expected but the Knicks should still overcome such ugly efforts against opponents like the Magic. They lamented the fourth quarter defense after allowing Orlando to score 36 points in that final period.

“There you go. Thirty-six points in the fourth,” Randle said. “Like I said, nights that we don’t shoot the ball particularly well, we definitely can rely on our defense.

“In the fourth quarter, intensity should go up. There’s no excuse for giving up 36 points in the fourth quarter. Feel like that’s where we lost the game. We didn’t play with energy the whole game, but definitely in the fourth we can rely on our defense to get stops and get out in the open court and run and we didn’t do that.”

Thibodeau’s tone and demeanor suggested he was more disappointed than angry in his postgame presser.

“The fourth quarter has to be our best quarter and it wasn’t tonight,” he said.