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Knicks end Florida tour with showdown in Orlando

Dec 30, 2010 - 3:50 PM (Sports Network) - The New York Knicks will finish up a tough two-game tour of the Sunshine State tonight hoping for more than a moral victory when they take on the Orlando Magic at Amway Center.

The Knicks came up a little short in Miami on Tuesday, when Dwyane Wade poured in a season-high 40 points and pulled down nine rebounds, as the Heat held off New York, 106-98.

Amare Stoudemire finished with 30 points and seven rebounds for the Knicks, who have dropped four of six overall. Stoudemire has now scored 20 or more points in 16 straight games, the longest such streak for New York since Patrick Ewing's 17 consecutive games from Jan. 8 - Feb. 6, 1994.

Wilson Chandler ended with 21 points and six rebounds for the Knicks, who also got 15 points and five assists from Raymond Felton.

Miami held a 53-40 margin at the half, and took an 80-65 lead into the fourth. Trailing by 11 at 95-84, the Knicks used a 10-2 run to make things interesting. Stoudemire's tip-in followed by Felton's technical free throw made it a 97-94 contest with two minutes remaining. Wade stopped the bleeding with a three-pointer at the other end, however, as Miami earned the victory.

"They started the game hot. They played with a lot of energy and were aggressive," Stoudemire said. "We started off slow, but we gave a lot more energy in the second half."

The Magic, meanwhile, have started to surge again, winning their fourth straight contest in Cleveland on Tuesday when Jason Richardson made four three-pointers en route to 20 points, as Orlando used a big fourth quarter to take down the struggling Cavaliers, 110-95, at Quicken Loans Arena.

Gilbert Arenas had 22 points and 11 assists off the bench and fellow reserve J.J. Redick added 14 points for the Magic, who have won four in a row after dropping eight of nine.

Jameer Nelson donated 13 points, six assists and five rebounds, while Dwight Howard tallied 12 points with six rebounds and Earl Clark also chipped in 12 points.

"We've put together our team to shoot the ball and the Cavaliers are a team that give up a lot of threes at a high percentage," Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy said.

Orlando has won three straight and six of the past seven in the series.