ORLANDO, Florida (Ticker) -- Othella Harrington may have found his niche in the the New York Knicks' rotation.
Harrington came off the bench to score six of his 12 points in a two-minute stretch to start the fourth quarter as the Knicks posted their first victory of the season, a 75-68 triumph over the Orlando Magic.
New York entered the fourth quarter with a 56-52 advantage when Harrington, used sparingly with New York's glut of forwards, sprung into action. He went inside for a pair of layups and added two free throws with 10:08 remaining for a 10-point bulge.
"It is a great feeling to be able to contribute, but it is a win," Harrington said. "I am just glad we got a win. We have a lot of guys who can play and I recognize that."
"He played exceptionally well considering he hasn't played in a while," Knicks coach Don Chaney said. "He's a high energy guy. Guys like that can make something happen."
The Knicks won the game with defense, limiting the Magic to woeful 25 percent shooting (21-of-84). It set a franchise record for New York for opponents field-goal percentage - the previous mark was set on December 10, 1985 against Indiana, which shot just under 26 percent.
It was also a franchise-worst mark for Orlando, surpassing the 29 percent shooting effort at Philadelphia on March 15, 1999.
"If someone told me that the Orlando Magic could hold someone to 75 points and lose, I would've though they were nuts, but that's exactly what happened," Orlando coach Doc Rivers said.
The defense was centered on limiting Tracy McGrady, who was double-teamed constantly and harassed into 5-of-20 shooting. McGrady had 19 points but managed just six on 2-of-9 shooting in the first half for Orlando, which has lost three straight.
"I can't even count the shots we missed around the basket, shots we usually make," McGrady said. "It was just one of those NBA nights where the ball doesn't go in the hole for you."
New York prevailed despite losing Allan Houston at the end of the third quarter due to back problems. Houston, who was grimacing in the third quarter, scored seven points on 2-of-9 shooting.
Charlie Ward finished with 15 points, six rebounds and five assists and Keith Van Horn added 14 on 4-of-20 shooting. The Knicks avenged an 85-83 overtime loss to the Magic last Wednesday in which they blew a late 10-point lead in regulation.
"Our team defense has been really good this season," Van Horn said. "We just have to get our offense going and I have a lot of confidence it will get going."
A block by Kurt Thomas on Drew Gooden led to Ward's driving layup with four minutes left for a 68-62 advantage. The Knicks made a series of defensive stops and finally scored again on a running dunk by Van Horn two minutes later for an eight-point edge.
Thomas grabbed 11 rebounds and led the defensive effort with five blocks. Dikembe Mutombo added three blocks and pulled down seven boards.
"We feel that the offense is going to take care of itself, but as long as we go out and compete on the defensive end and hold teams to under 40 percent, that is going to increase our chances of winning ballgames," Thomas said.
Both teams were awful from the perimeter with New York draining 1-of-12 3-pointers and Orlando making 4-of-16. Houston and Van Horn combined to miss all nine 3-point attempts.
Ward was the only player on either side who was on target, drilling 5-of-6 shots. He nailed New York's lone 3-pointer early in the second half.
The Knicks, however, were able to find a groove in a 15-4 spurt bridging both halves, featuring six points by Van Horn. They took their largest lead at 50-35 with 7:31 left in the third quarter on a pair of free throws by Van Horn that capped the burst.
Gooden and Juwan Howard each scored 14 points and Tyronn Lue added 12. The Magic bench combined for nine points on 3-of-23 shooting.
"They're going to keep playing," Rivers said. "You got to keep using the bench. He (McGrady) needs rest, he's going to get his rest - there's no way around that. Our bench and our outher guys have to play better."
