ORLANDO, Fla. -- Magic guard Victor Oladipo lost his starting role, but he rediscovered his game Wednesday night.

Oladipo, in the midst of an inconsistent season, scored 24 points in reserve and became a much-needed spark in the Magic's 100-91 victory over the New York Knicks at Amway Center.

Oladipo, who started 83 of his previous 84 games with the Magic, was benched in favor of Channing Frye, but he thrived in his new role.

"I played with a chip on my shoulder tonight," he said. "A lot of that is just getting back to the way I need to play every night. When I play like this, we have a great chance of winning. This is about winning, plain and simple. Doesn't matter where I play (starter or reserve)."

Oladipo was much more assertive on offense and more aggressive on defense. It rubbed off on his teammates as the Magic (7-8) dominated much of the game.

He hit 13 of 15 free throws, both career highs. The most free throws he previously attempted in a game this season was just four. He made only five of his 15 shots from the floor but compensated with the way he played.

"He was in the attack mode tonight," Magic coach Scott Skiles said. "I know he was disappointed (in the benching), but I also felt like he would respond like he did. We sorely needed to get to the free-throw line, and he put us there."

The Magic, who were 29th in the NBA in free throws attempted this season, made a season-high 27 of 32 foul shots Wednesday.

Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony scored a game-high 28 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, but his team never got closer than four points in the second half.

Magic center Nikola Vucevic had 22 points and 12 rebounds. Forward Tobias Harris added 17 points and 10 rebounds, and point guard Elfrid Payton had 12 points and 11 assists.

"Tonight says a lot about Victor and who he is," Vucevic said. "This had to be tough for him not starting after being a starter for so long, but he responded like we knew he would. He gave us energy."

Knicks point guard Jose Calderon finished with 23 points. Center Robin Lopez had eight points and 12 rebounds. Rookie Kristaps Porzingis, who scored 20 points or more in three of the previous four games, had just eight points but contributed eight rebounds and six blocked shots.

"(The Magic) made us work for everything we got tonight," Knicks coach Derek Fisher said. "That's a good defensive team. That's what made it tough for us to sustain any type of momentum."

The Knicks (8-8) never led after the first quarter once the Magic took control. New York shot just 37.3 percent (31 of 83) from the field. The Magic made only 34 of 86 shots (39.5 percent), but they committed just eight turnovers.

"This was a game I thought we should have won," Anthony said. "I'm just trying to do my job. The past couple of games, we haven't been putting a complete game together. If we had started stronger, we probably could have won this one, but it just seemed like we were only playing in spurts."

The Magic led 63-72 going into the final period after getting 10 points from Vucevic and eight from Oladipo in the third.

The Knicks opened the second half by scoring the first seven points and cutting the deficit to four. Vucevic, though, responded by scoring eight points in the next six minutes.

Despite shooting just 32.7 percent from the field in the first half, the Magic led 46-35 at intermission. The Knicks shot just 29.3 percent and committed eight turnovers in the first two periods.

Anthony led everyone with 13 points and Harris had 11 in the first half. The Magic took command late in the first quarter and carried it into the second. The Knicks went eight minutes without a field goal.

The Magic led 28-17 and 36-25. Reserve center Jason Smith, a former Knick, had eight points in the second period. Lopez had 10 rebounds and eight points in the first half.

Porzingis had three blocked shots in the first six minutes, but he failed to score in the first half.

NOTES: Knicks rookie F Kristaps Porzingis was booed by New York fans on draft night but quickly became one of the most popular players. "I'm not surprising myself," he said earlier this week. "I knew what I was capable of. Maybe other people are, but I knew what I could do." ... Magic G C.J. Watson missed his seventh consecutive game with a strained left calf. ... The Magic came into the game averaging 90.07 field-goal attempts per game, most in the NBA. They also were holding opponents to 42.7 percent shooting from the field, which is lower than any Magic team in history. ... Because of a quirk in the schedule, the Knicks return home Friday to play Miami for the second time this week. They lost in Miami on Monday night. They have lost to the Heat three consecutive times at Madison Square Garden.