Jalen Brunson of New York Knicks has been given five (5) games suspension for…

NEW YORK One club, winners of 13 of their previous 16 games, entered Madison Square Garden on Friday on a five-game winning streak.

The opposing team, which was without three starters and had just one player recover from a knee injury, arrived at the arena beaten and battered.

Certain things aren’t always what they appear, as the Knicks proved on Friday when they defeated Orlando 98-74 at the Garden after the Magic had dropped their first three games against them this season.

After missing two games due to a knee strain, All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson made his way back into the starting lineup. The Knicks, who were shorthanded, won with a strong first quarter that propelled them back to the fourth seed in the East.

The No. 10 Atlanta Hawks defeated the Knicks 16 points to 1 in the first quarter, and the team was unable to purchase a 3-pointer.

And treys were on sale at the Garden for two for one during the first quarter of a crucial win on Friday over a team that was vying for a spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

And the fast start was encouraging considering they had dropped the first quarters of their previous two games, 68-34 overall, against the Hawks and Golden State Warriors.

In the first twelve minutes of the game, the Knicks made six of seven three-pointers from beyond the arc and eight of their first nine first-half treys to take a 16-point lead into halftime.

Having scored 17 of his 26 points over the first two quarters, Brunson led the assault. In the first half, he made 3 of 4 shots from downtown and finished 4 of 7 from behind the arc. With 7:49 left in the fourth quarter and his Knicks up 21, he went 3 of 5 in the opening three quarters.

With less than 4:30 remaining in the fourth quarter, the All-Star guard made another three-pointer to put the Knicks ahead 21 points. Josh Hart’s put-back dunk on a missed step-back three by Brunson on the subsequent possession was the only play that stopped the MVP shout.