After the Orlando Magic got to the hoop for a pair of easy buckets to start the second half and stretch their lead to 10, Derek Fisher called for a timeout less than one minute into the third quarter.

During that break, Coach Fish lit a fire under his team, sparking a 16-4 run. That eventually set his New York Knicks into the fourth quarter with a lead. It looked as though Fish’s crew would finally break its frustrating five-game losing streak, but the game came down to a buzzer-beater trey from J.R. Smith that sailed wide left, saddling the Knicks with a heartbreaking 97-95 defeat.

The run his team made after falling behind early, as well as several other competitive games throughout the losing streak, has Derek optimistic about his team’s chances going forward. But as he said after the Wednesday night defeat, one key element is still missing.

“We’re a team that’s looking to create a new identity in the face of what used to be,” Fish explained. “Right now our guys aren’t trusting that they know how to win right now and close these games out, and we have to find out how to break through that fear of failing, and that fear of not succeeding.”

Foul trouble also hindered New York as it attempted to snag a late victory. Five Knicks had two fouls by halftime, and both Carmelo Anthony and Iman Shumpert had four fouls by the end of the third quarter. Anthony finished with five and Shumpert fouled out with 2:25 to go in the game, which limited D-Fish’s options down the stretch.

“We got those early fouls for Melo and Shumpert maybe a couple minutes later,” Derek said. “I think that impacted us a little bit as we got into the back part of that fourth quarter. We weren’t in bad shape, but we had to buy a few minutes and get those guys off the floor.”

The fouls also resulted in free-throw 32 attempts and 25 points for Orlando.

New York had a solid first quarter offensively, as Anthony, Shumpert, Smith and Shane Larkin each had five or more points. The Knicks totaled 27 points off 47.4 percent shooting, but Evan Fournier was on fire for the Orlando Magic. He tallied 15 points off 5-of-6 shooting and knocked down two threes to start a huge night. He ended with a game-high 28, 10 of which came from the free throw line.

Tobias Harris carried the torch for the Magic, notching 10 points in the second, but the New York bench combined for 21 to keep the Knicks within range. Orlando took a 56-50 lead into the break.

To contend with the red-hot Nikola Vucevic down low, Derek called for heavy doses of Amar’e Stoudemire, Samuel Dalembert and Jason Smith. The trio combined for 20 points, 14 rebounds, nine assists and five blocks, all of which came from Dalembert. The tactic of going big paid off in the third, that is, after Fish called the motivating timeout with his team down 10.

Melo started the rally with a conventional three-point play. Shortly thereafter, Dalembert and Vucevic traded buckets before Derek’s squad started testing the deep waters.

In a hurry to score points while trailing by seven, Derek’s Knicks showed no fear in taking shots from beyond the arc. With seven minutes to go in the third, Tim Hardaway Jr. narrowly missed a trey from the top of the three-point line, but Dalembert was there to clean up the boards. He snagged the sailing ball, and kicked it out to a wide-open Melo on the wing, who buried the open three to cut the lead to four.

A few plays later, Anthony and Dalembert worked the two-man game to create an open jumper for No. 7, who hit from 18 feet out to tie the game at 64. He also nailed the go-ahead jumper on the next possession.

The young Orlando team responded with a rally of its own, but Smith was there to answer with two of his three trifectas on the night. He finished with 19 points, more than any other player off the bench. New York’s reserves outscored Orlando second unit 45-28. Thanks to J.R.’s late bombs, the Knicks took a 76-74 lead into the final frame.

Early in the fourth, Pablo Prigioni hit from deep to give New York a five-point lead, its largest of the game, and force an Orlando timeout. The game featured an incredible 35 lead changes and 14 ties and neither team led by more than 10, and that teetering continued through the fourth.

Before he fouled out, Shumpert provided one last highlight, and a much-needed play for N.Y. With the Knicks down four coming out of a timeout, Smith dropped the ball in to Shump, who put a move on Harris, allowing him to sprint freely to the basket for an easy reverse jam, cutting the lead to two.

Later in the fourth, Anthony provided some more heroics. With his team down four with 4.7 seconds to go, Melo launched a ridiculous three over two defenders that hit nothing but net, making it just a one-point Orlando advantage. Fournier made just one free throw on the other end, setting up the Knicks with one shot and a chance to win it.

However, the Magic guarded the inbound with tenacity, forcing a tough 27-footer from Smith. New York’s biggest deep threat, described that final play after the contest.

“I got a little too far from the basket,” Smith said of the final shot. “They denied the ball pretty well coming out of the inbound, so I pretty much had to throw the ball from half court.”

Shumpert and Jason Smith each joined J.R. in double figures, while Melo led the way once again with 27 points off 10-of-17 shooting. He brought down five rebounds and went 2-of-4 from downtown.

New York’s on-court leader talked about the defeat and the losing streak after the game, and he remained optimistic that, as the team continues to come together under Coach Fish, things will turn around.

“Losing is tough, I thought this was a game we could have come out here and got tonight, and kind of get that monkey off our back,” Anthony said. “It’s a tough pill to swallow, but we have to bounce back from this.”

NEXT UP

Fish’s Knicks (2-7) will have a day off Thursday before moving on Friday to take on the 3-5 Utah Jazz at Madison Square Garden.

Ahead of that game, Fish talked about the mental state and the morale of his locker room through its early-season slump.

“It actually is good,” Fisher said of the psyche. “We continue to see more resolve as we have gone on. As we go through this process, we have more and more guys taking individual responsibility and accountability for what’s going on and how we each can help the team get better.

“That is important to building a team, building a culture: owning what is happening with the team. I think in the past, there have been issues with more finger-pointing out as opposed to finger-pointing in. We are now having a locker room of guys that are pointing to themselves about how they can help us get better.”

Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET, and the game will be broadcast on MSG.

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