Pistons at Magic
The Orlando Magic will try to build upon their best offensive effort of the season when they host the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday in the final game before the All-Star break for both teams. Four players scored at least 21 points and the Magic made a season-high 18 3-pointers in Monday's 135-126 win over the Atlanta Hawks.
"When the ball goes through the net like that, it's more enjoyable for everyone," center Nikola Vucevic (24 points) told reporters. "But we can't expect to make shots like that every night. We don't have that kind of firepower. The reality is, we're not going to win many games giving up 126 points." The victory snapped a three-game slide for Orlando and was only the club's second win in its last 10 games. The Pistons are in a similar slump as they suffer through a 2-9 slide, but they are coming off a very different experience in an 87-76 loss to Charlotte at home Monday night. Thon Maker was Detroit's leading scorer with only 12 points as the team posted its fewest points since March 13, 2019.
TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: FS Detroit, FS Florida
ABOUT THE PISTONS (19-37): Detroit is 0-3 since trading away center Andre Drummond and it is averaging 89.7 points in that span, as several key players remain sidelined with injuries. Reggie Jackson has been one of the bright spots of late with four 20-point games in his first five games this month, but he slumped to eight points on 2-of-11 shooting Monday night. "If you look at the box score, the first thing you see is the points off turnovers," he told reporters after his team coughed it up 21 times. "We lost that battle by 14 points and lost the game by 11, so that's a huge difference."
ABOUT THE MAGIC (23-31): Monday's offensive outburst included a 42-point fourth quarter and saw the team finish with 33 assists, its second-highest total of the season. "The way we've been struggling, our guys knew this was an important game," coach Steve Clifford told the media. "And that's the way we've got to play. It's got to be five-man basketball." Aaron Gordon bounced back from a seven-point showing in a loss to Milwaukee on Saturday to score a team-high 26 points in the win.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Magic SF James Ennis III had six points and five rebounds Monday in his debut with the team following a trade with Philadelphia at the deadline.
2. Maker also grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds Monday and he is averaging 12.7 points and 7.3 rebounds since Drummond was traded.
3. Pistons SG Luke Kennard, who last played Dec. 21 due to a knee injury, scored 20 points to lead his team to a 103-88 win over Orlando in the first meeting.