Jalen Brunson sparkles in return as Knicks dominate red-hot Magic

Jalen Brunson returned and drove the steamroller over a surging team at MSG. 

Brunson, who missed the previous contest with a knee contusion, dropped 26 points as the Knicks pummeled the Magic on Friday, 98-74, a cakewalk highlighted by their dominant defense. 

It was the fewest points the Knicks’ allowed since 2012. 

The Knicks (37-26), who are soon returning OG Anunoby from elbow surgery, took the fourth spot in the East from the Magic (37-27), which had its five-game winning streak snapped. 

Brunson’s impact was immediate. 

He scored 10 points in the opening quarter, as the Knicks held a 21-9 advantage within seven minutes.

The lead hit 14 at halftime, then ballooned to 26 at the end of the third quarter. 

The Magic, which was 3-0 against the Knicks this season, never led.

Orlando shot just 34 percent overall and 23 percent from beyond the arc.

The Knicks’ heroes, other than Brunson, were clearly Precious Achiuwa (15 points, 14 rebounds, 39 minutes) and Josh Hart (19 points, seven rebounds, four assists in 42 minutes). 

Miles McBride added 14 points off the bench in the wire-to-wire win.

Hart’s energy in the first half, equipped with enthusiastic yelling and celebrations, carried the Knicks through stretches.

His put-back dunk with about three minutes left in the fourth sent the crowd into a frenzy and capped his latest “All Hart” performance. 

Brunson had missed the previous game with a knee contusion, an injury that had Knicks fans on also kept him out all but 47 seconds of Sunday’s victory in Cleveland.

So basically Brunson had five days for the bruise to heal, and the rest looked good on the 27-year-old. 

He shot 11-for-19 in just 29 minutes, nailing a game-high four treys. His night again ended with “MVP”chants from the stands.

The Magic, missing its best perimeter defender in Jalen Suggs (thigh contusion), had no answer. 

The Magic entered the night with the Celtics as the only East teams the Knicks hadn’t defeated yet this season.

Orlando and New York are also potential playoff opponents after entering the night as the fourth and fifth seeds in the East, respectively. 

“It’s going to be interesting to see how that all shakes out,” said Magic All-Star Paolo Banchero, who finished with 23 points Friday. “Fourth through eighth is such a tight race, so you don’t know how it is going to shake out these last (19) games. But it’s definitely a possibility of us playing them. Playing in a playoff series here would be awesome.” 

Banchero buried the Knicks in the previous matchup, dropping 36 points on Valentine’s Day in Orlando before telling the invading visiting fans to ‘Go home.’ On Friday, Banchero told The Post it was important to shut down the Knicks fans to combat the disrespect felt in his own arena — “When they’re talking to you in your own arena, it hits a little different. … When they come to Orlando, you got to send them home sometimes.” 

But he wasn’t putting much stock in wins over a depleted roster. 

“I think we’re just able to match their physicality, that’s the main thing. They’re one of the most physical teams in the league. I think we’re able to match that,” Banchero said of the first three matchups this season against the Knicks, all Magic victories. “I think also they’ve been pretty beat up the times we’ve played them. I don’t think we’ve played their full roster.” 

Indeed, the Magic have only faced the Knicks this season with at least one of the following players — Brunson, Julius Randle, OG Anunoby — injured and out.

On Friday, Randle and Anunoby were again DNPs. 

Brunson played and it was all they needed to blow out the Magic.