Knicks drop 3rd in a row with 103-94 loss to Magic as depth issues persist

NEW YORK — Losing to the West’s No. 1-seed and NBA’s top-ranked Oklahoma City Thunder defense? Understandable.

Losing to the fast-paced, run-and-gun Chicago Bulls 24 hours later? Chalk it to dead legs.

Dropping a third game in a row, however, to a team without four of its five best scoring options, this time with adequate rest in between games?

Now that is a cause for concern at Madison Square Garden.

The Knicks were without All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns — a late scratch after aggravating his right knee injury in Chicago — and sixth man Miles McBride, who missed his fourth straight game due to a strained left hamstring but faced an Orlando Magic team missing franchise cornerstone Paolo Ranchero, breakout star Franz Wagner, his brother Moritz Wagner, standout guard Jalen Suggs and veteran scorer Gary Harris, all due to injury.

And yet the Magic proved why they have been able to remain above .500 without their stars, while the Knicks continued to struggle against both physical defensive pressure and a lack of bench depth.

After winning nine in a row and 19 of the previous 23 games, the Knicks have dropped three straight games, the latest coming via a 103-94 loss to the Magic at The Garden on Monday.

The Knicks took a 28-24 lead into the second quarter but found themselves trailing the Magic, 53-51, entering halftime.

New York then strung together its third consecutive poor second half: The Knicks lost the final two quarters, 63-41, in Oklahoma City and 76-54 in Chicago, before Monday night’s 50-43 second-half abomination at home.

A lack of depth has been to blame for a top-heavy roster that’s committed roughly 88 percent of its payroll to its top six players — including one (Mitchell Robinson) who has not played a game this season.

With Robinson still rehabbing from offseason ankle surgery, Towns’ absence further strained a team searching for fresh legs.

Tom Thibodeau started Jericho Sims in place of the All-Star big man, and Sims finished with four points, 10 rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal in 29 minutes of play. Thibodeau ultimately turned to Precious Achiuwa, who played the entirety of the Knicks’ failed fourth-quarter rally before Thibodeau attempted to go small with Landry Shamet playing alongside the starters.

Monday night marked yet another game where the Knicks’ bench failed to defeat the opponent’s. Orlando’s reserves outscored New York’s, 48-18. The Knicks’ bench hasn’t outscored an opponent’s since Dec. 1 — against a New Orleans Pelicans team boasting the NBA’s worst record.

The disparity between opposing benches and New York’s expanded to a whopping 675-300.

Jalen Brunson finished with 24 points on 8-of-21 shooting from the field and took a poke to the eye that left a red mark on his face midway through the game. Brunson fouled out with 1:05 left in the fourth quarter. Thibodeau challenged the foul but lost.

Mikal Bridges continued his hot scoring streak with 24 points on 50% shooting from the field but shot just 1 of 7 from downtown.

Josh Hart added another double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds, but the Knicks shot just 4 of 22 as a team from deep and lost the battle in both the turnover and rebound margin, two key Thibodeau tentpoles for winning basketball.

The Knicks have not played winning basketball over their last three games.

They had better secure a victory over the lowly Toronto Raptors in R.J. Barrett and Immanuel Quickley’s return to The Garden on Wednesday because they soon enter a gauntlet of playoff teams coming to New York looking for a win, starting with a rematch against Isaiah Hartenstein and the Thunder on Friday before a matinee matchup against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday.

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