By James Edwards III, Darnell Mayberry and Josh Robbins

Jalen Brunson continued his torrid run, topping 30 points for the fourth straight game as the New York Knicks pulled away late to beat the Orlando Magic 132-120 on Saturday night in the first NBA Cup semifinal.

Brunson scored a season-high 40 points, making 16-of-27 shots. He made just two 3-pointers against the Magic’s notoriously physical defense. Karl-Anthony Towns had 29 points, and OG Anunoby scored 24 for the Knicks, who shot a season-high 61 percent.

NASTY MOVE BY JALEN BRUNSON 🤯

HE’S UP TO 37 POINTS THROUGH 3 QUARTERS.

NYK LEADS AND ENDS THE QUARTER ON A 15-3 RUN.

Tap to watch: https://t.co/pHyeRvnT7m pic.twitter.com/L6HTGb8np5

— NBA (@NBA) December 14, 2025

The Knicks will now face the winner of Saturday night’s semifinal game between the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder in Tuesday’s Cup Final.

Knicks offense surges into NBA Cup Final

The Knicks’ potent offense continues to roll, this time right into the NBA Cup Final.

New York put up more than 130 points against a stingy Orlando defense on the back of a 40-ball from Brunson.

Potentially bigger than advancing in the NBA Cup, New York has evened the series record against Orlando at 2-2. If the teams were to finish the regular season with the same record, the Magic would no longer have the head-to-head tiebreaker.

The victory gives New York a chance to show the world that it’s not only a real contender in the East but also can contend for an NBA title, assuming its opponent ends up being the NBA-leading Thunder. The Knicks haven’t played a top-five team in the West yet this season and will do so when they take on either the Thunder or the Spurs.

The matchup, while not anywhere close to the intensity and importance of the NBA Finals, will give Knicks fans an idea if one of the best two teams in the lesser-regarded East can, in fact, be competitive with any of the top five teams in the West on a somewhat meaningful stage. — James Edwards III, Knicks beat writer

Magic defense buckles against Knicks

This semifinal performance wasn’t what the Magic regard as their brand of basketball.

Many of the items on their to-do list that coach Jamahl Mosley cited as priorities before tipoff went unfulfilled.

Orlando did not contain Brunson, who scored 40 points, as Jalen Suggs, Orlando’s best on-ball defender, hobbled for almost three quarters because of a sore left hip. Orlando did not protect its defensive glass during the first half, allowing 12 second-chance points through two quarters. And Orlando did not defend well without fouling, with New York going 23 for 31 from the free-throw line.

And where was the Magic’s trademark physicality? Absent for much of the game.

Mosley’s club was effective in transition — that is, on the rare occasions when it was able to rush forward in transition. Of course, there are two keys to getting shots up before an opponent sets its defense: getting stops on defense and forcing turnovers on defense. Orlando didn’t do much of either. New York made 61 percent of its shots and committed only 12 turnovers.

No wonder, then, that the Magic struggled to generate many scoring attempts at the rim. They missed one of their best drivers, Franz Wagner, who is sidelined by the high-ankle sprain he suffered last weekend, coincidentally against the Knicks. But the larger issue was that the Magic couldn’t generate stops — and then run. The Magic missed Wagner on defense, too.

The Magic’s best moments occurred during a 16-4 run in the third quarter. That was the first time when their defense looked like its usual self. That was short-lived, however. That stretch typified the spirit, and execution, of Magic basketball over the last three seasons under Mosley, but it didn’t last long enough. — Josh Robbins, NBA writer

This story will be updated.