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Amare Stoudemire (left), Dwight Howard (right)

The New York Knicks, for a period of time, looked to be a lock at around the fifth seed of the Eastern Conference playoff chase. With the acquisition of Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups, that lofty position seemed nearly a certainty.

But apparently, the team has fallen on hard times as of late, dropping three straight before their game Wednesday night against the Orlando Magic at Madison Square Garden.

The lack of height at center for the Knicks would come to haunt them as Dwight Howard dominated while he and Jameer Nelson combined for 19 points, allowing Orlando to take over early in the fourth quarter and outlast New York 111-99.

The Magic got nine points apiece from Nelson and Brandon Bass in the first quarter en route to a 28-25 lead; Orlando led by as many as 10 in the period ans was ahead for most of the second before Billups led a New York surge that gave them the lead.

They were up 59-55 after Nelson’s horn-beating 3-pointer.

The Magic turned up their defense in the third, with the Knicks going just 7-of-23 from the floor. Orlando would take a 79-78 lead going into the fourth quarter on a Nelson jumper with 15 seconds left in he period.

The Magic would take the lead for good, courtesy of an early 9-0 spurt in the final period. A pair of free throws by Gilbert Arenas, followed by a Jason Richardson 3-pointer, capped by a pair of Arenas baskets made it 90-82 with 7:55 remaining in the game.

The Knicks were helpless for the balance of the contest as they resorted to hacking Howard; however, the Orlando center came through at the charity stripe, sealing the game.

Speaking of Howard, he led all Magic scorers with a game-high 33 points, along with 11 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal and 3 blocks while Nelson added 19 (including four 3-pointers) with 2 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal. Hedo Turkoglu chipped in 16 (including four treys) with 11 rebounds and 4 assists while Bass poured in 15 with 7 rebounds, an assist, a steal and 2 blocks.

The Knicks were led by Anthony with 24 points, along with 5 rebounds, 9 assists and 2 steals while Billups and Toney Douglas adding 17 each – with Billups making three 3-pointers, grabbing 2 rebounds and dishing out 3 assists while Douglas made three treys, grabbed 5 boards and dished out an assist.

Both teams return to action on Friday night as Orlando (46-26) returns home to host the New Jersey Nets while New York (35-36) remains at home to host the Milwauke Bucks.