Iman Shumpert, who missed half the season recovering from left knee surgery, strained that same knee in the second quarter against the Magic. He left the court and sat on the bench without returning for the remainder of the game.

"I took a step to explode and go up to the rim and felt it pop,” he said afterward. "Last time I felt a pop, I was out eight months. I was nervous and more scared than anything."

"Last time I felt a pop, I was out eight months," Iman Shumpert said on Wednesday. AP Photo/Frank Franklin II

With all of the injuries the Knicks have already been plagued with recently, Shumpert's knee tweak couldn't have come at a more inopportune time.

New York can exhale, though. According to the Knicks' training staff, the tweak was a false alarm. Shumpert will be evaluated for a second time on Thursday.

"They said if they needed me I could go back out, but they didn't need me so I rested," he said. “While I was sitting on the bench, I felt fine. I was more scared than anything. I am fine now. Hopefully it all goes well tomorrow."

THOMAS TALKS: A day after the Knicks announced that Kurt Thomas would be out two to four weeks with an acute stress reaction surrounding a chronic stress fracture in his right foot, the backup center spoke to the media following the Magic game.

Thomas said that when he was in pain during the Trail Blazers game on March 14, he knew there was a bigger problem at hand.

"I kind of sensed it from the very beginning," he told reporters in the Knicks' locker room. "I had felt that pain years ago. I was hoping it would turn out to be something different, but it was definitely expected.

"I had a stress fracture like in '06-'07 when I played for the Phoenix Suns, and I thought it healed. I've been playing six years straight and come to find out it never completely healed."

Thomas is thinking a return this season is possible.

"We're going to see," he said. "I'm just going to continue to try to get this swelling out of my foot, a lot of swelling in the bone. We'll see if I can come back, if I can reduce the pain."

On his remedies: "Ice, ice. Do the bone [stimulation] a little, try to increase my Vitamin D intake and see if we can produce some bone growth."

If this year doesn't work out, Thomas, the oldest player currently in the NBA at 40 years old, said that he hopes to play another season in the NBA.

BACKCOURT BEAUTIES: With the Knicks' minor and major injuries on all fronts, players have been forced to step up. The Knicks' backcourt showed prowess handling the ball against the Magic, recording 20 assists and only 11 turnovers.

Starting point guard Pablo Prigioni was perfect from the field with both of his buckets coming from beyond the arc, and he added five assists, four rebounds and only one turnover. His sidekick for the second game in a row, Raymond Felton, scored seven points, dished out four assists and had no turnovers.

Shumpert appreciated their efforts.

"Pablo and Ray do a great job at extending the offense and making sure we play with more space," he said. "Their use of the ball screen has been very effective as of late. I feel like we're getting good shots and when you get good shots like that, you're more confident."