ORLANDO, Fla. _ It took 32 seconds for Elfrid Payton to remind his Orlando Magic teammates how he can help them.
Payton dribbled to the right elbow and underhanded a pass toward the rim for Aaron Gordon, and Gordon elevated, caught the ball and dunked it.
The play foreshadowed what would follow.
Playing his first game since Oct. 20, Payton gave the Magic offense a lift and helped the team defeat the New York Knicks 112-99 at Amway Center.
After two awful shooting games in losses to the Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics, the Magic hit 53.8 percent of their shots and 46.4 percent of their 3s against the Knicks.
Payton, and 23 Knicks turnovers, put the Magic into a better rhythm.
In 29 minutes, Payton tallied 11 points, six rebounds and 11 assists.
Nikola Vucevic scored a team-high 24 points. Evan Fournier added 23 points. And Gordon contributed 21 points on 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc.
Payton had missed eight consecutive games because of a strained left hamstring, and although he practiced Saturday, worked out Sunday and Monday and practiced Tuesday, he continued to feel soreness and tightness in his leg. Magic officials held him out of Wednesday morning's shootaround and said his playing status would be determined close to tipoff.
The wait was worth it.
The Magic also benefited from an unexpected gift.
The Magic spent Monday, Tuesday and early Wednesday game-planning to try to slow Knicks big man Kristaps Porzingis, who averages 30.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game.
But the Knicks held Porzingis out against the Magic, because Porzingis sprained his left ankle during the closing seconds of New York's victory Tuesday night. Porzingis also has a sore right elbow.
So New York (6-5) employed a starting lineup of Jarrett Jack, Courtney Lee, Tim Hardaway Jr., Michael Beasley and Enes Kanter. There's not a star in the bunch without Porzingis, and Orlando (7-4) might have taken the matchup lightly.
The Knicks dominated on their offensive end of the court early in the game, making 15 of their first 25 shot attempts. But they also couldn't control the basketball. They turned the ball over 14 times during the first half, resulting in 19 Magic points.
The Magic needed a victory Wednesday.
They had lost their previous two games, both at Amway Center, and will leave Thursday afternoon for a four-game road trip against the Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors and Portland Trail Blazers. As their game against the Knicks approached, Magic players said they had to regain some momentum before their potentially tricky West Coast trip.
The decisive stretch Wednesday occurred midway through the third quarter.
After Lee made a 3-pointer that put the Knicks ahead 63-62, the Magic cobbled together a 15-5 run that was fueled by long-range shooting and three Knicks turnovers.
Gordon sank 3-pointers on back-to-back Magic possessions, giving the Magic a 70-66 lead.
After Lee made a mid-range jumper, Vucevic drained a 3 of his own.
A short while later, Payton hurled an alley-oop pass toward the hoop, and Gordon dunked it. Orlando led 77-68, forcing Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek to call a timeout.
Just before the end of the third quarter, Gordon caught an inbounds pass, launched a 3 from the top of the arc and sank it, extending the Magic's lead to 84-76.
Payton helped clinch the victory in the fourth quarter.
Midway through the period, he dribbled into the lane, and when the defense collapsed toward him, he chucked a pass to Terrence Ross, who was wide open in the left corner. Ross made his 3-pointer, stretching the Magic's lead to 100-88.
It was Payton's 11th assist of the night.
It again reminded everyone how Payton can help the Magic.
