NEW YORK _ The Knicks said goodbye to Marcus Morris on Thursday as he was dealt to the Clippers before the trade deadline.
Of more importance to the team's long-term future, the Knicks said hello again to RJ Barrett, who returned to the court against the Magic after a nine-game absence because of a sprained ankle.
Barrett, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft, scored 12 points in his return and the Knicks staged a fourth-quarter rally against the Magic to win their third in a row, 105-103, at Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks (16-36) trailed by as many as 10 in the fourth after leading by as many as 13 in the first half of a topsy-turvy game.
Wayne Ellington (12 points) got the Knicks back to within six with two 3-pointers. Elfrid Payton's 3 with 5:34 left tied the score at 96 and Julius Randle gave the Knicks the lead for good at 98-96 with a jumper at 4:59.
Randle led the Knicks with 22 points. Taj Gibson scored 19 and Payton had 15 points, nine assists and eight steals.
Nikola Vucevic led the Magic (22-30) with 25 points.
The day started with the news that the Knicks are planning to hire agent Leon Rose as their new team president, according to a source. Then came the afternoon trade of Morris, who had been the team's leading scorer at 19.6 points per game.
Interim coach Mike Miller started Frank Ntilikina in the backcourt and shifted Reggie Bullock to Morris' forward slot.
Barrett entered the game for his first action since Jan. 16 with 5:28 left in the first quarter along with Mitchell Robinson to sustained applause. The crowd was in a good mood because the Knicks were ahead by five and were in the process of building a 12-point first-quarter lead.
Barrett, who played 18 minutes, scored his first points of the night on a driving reverse layup with 3:02 left after a steal and feed by Dennis Smith Jr.
That basket put the Knicks up 26-14. Barrett ended the quarter by hitting a pair of free throws for a 30-19 lead.
Orlando closed the gap a few times, but Barrett was there to help the Knicks maintain a healthy lead. He hit a 3-pointer with 3:59 to go in the half to make it 47-37 and helped complete a four-point play with 35.2 seconds left after the Magic had pulled to within three.
Barrett scored on a driving layup and was fouled by Vucevic, who was so incensed by the call that he punched the padding behind the basket. Vucevic was called for a technical foul. Bullock hit the technical foul free throw and then Barrett hit the regular free throw to give the Knicks a 54-47 advantage heading into halftime.
