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Young Knicks start second half vs. Magic

Feb 20, 2007 - 1:52 PM Orlando (27-26) at New York (23-30) 7:30 pm EST

NEW YORK (Ticker) -- Second-year players David Lee and Nate Robinson made a splash on All-Star Saturday. Now they hope to lead the New York Knicks to some victories.

With coach Isiah Thomas's job dependent on his team's play after the All-Star break, Lee and Robinson will look to get the Knicks off to a good start on Tuesday when they host All-Star big man Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic.

A candidate for Most Improved Player, Lee scored 30 points and shot a perfect 14-of-14 from the field in Friday's Rookie-Sophomore Challenge to earn MVP honors. The NBA's most accurate shooter at 61 percent, Lee has averaged 11.2 points and 10.6 rebounds.

Not getting as much playing time as Lee this season, Robinson still was a big part the Slam Dunk Competition. The defending champion, Robinson made the finals but lost to - and was leapt over by at one point - Boston swingman Gerald Green.

However, Lee and Robinson are just a small part of the equation for the Knicks (23-30), who have been playing for the future of Thomas. Owner James Dolan gave his coach an ultimatum before the season to make "significant progress" or lose his job.

While New York is better than last year, and franchise center Eddy Curry has shown much improvement, Thomas's job is one long losing streak from being terminated.

It also will be an important second half for the Magic, who were atop the Eastern Conference for much of the season before a slide.

Orlando has lost four of its last six games but still is in sixth place in the East - six games behind Detroit. In their last contest on Wednesday, the Magic defeated Portland, 103-91. Hedo Turkoglu scored a season-high 24 points and Darko Milicic added a career-high 21.

With Jameer Nelson, Grant Hill and Tony Battie sidelined, Howard collected 20 points and 16 rebounds. Howard, who leads the team in scoring (17.6) and rebounding (11.9), netted 20 points in 20 minutes in Sunday's All-Star game.