Trail Blazers at Magic
The Orlando Magic saw their three-game winning streak come to an end Saturday night by the narrowest of margins, but look to get back on track when they return home to take on the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday. Orlando rallied from an early deficit to take a lead into the final two minutes at San Antonio before falling 114-113, with guard Evan Fournier missing an off-balance layup with 2.2 seconds left.
While Fournier was upset with the miss, the team's slow start - which resulted in an 11-point deficit after one quarter - was just as much to blame. "Lack of readiness on my end, for sure," Magic forward Aaron Gordon told reporters after he was held to seven points, less than half his season average. The Trail Blazers fell to 1-4 since All-Star guard Damian Lillard (groin) left the lineup with a 129-117 loss at Atlanta on Saturday. Lillard, who entered Sunday ranked fifth in the league in scoring (29.5), could return Wednesday at home against Washington.
TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: NBCS Northwest, FS Florida, NBA TV Canada
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (26-35): While Lillard rests, CJ McCollum has carried the team and he had 35 points on 14-of-26 shooting in Saturday's loss. The 28-year-old guard is averaging 31.8 points and nine assists in five games since the All-Star break, but he knows that all the numbers mean little without a better defensive effort than the one the Blazers gave at Atlanta. "They're shooting the ball well," McCollum told reporters after the Hawks shot 54.8 percent. "A lot of them were open so that's a credit to them for making open shots. ... Part of the game plan was to try to stop Trae Young and to make other guys beat us and they did tonight."
ABOUT THE MAGIC (27-33): Fournier finished with 23 points and four steals in the loss to the Spurs, which left Orlando with a half-game lead on eighth-place Brooklyn in the Eastern Conference. Terrence Ross chipped in 21 points off the bench one night after recording a season-high 33 in a win over Minnesota. Ross is averaging 21.6 points in 29.8 minutes since the All-Star break while shooting 47.7 percent from 3-point range.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Blazers C Hassan Whiteside ran his streak of double-doubles to nine in a row with 21 points and 13 rebounds at Atlanta.
2. Magic PG D.J. Augustin had 12 points and seven assists in just 18 minutes Saturday in his best game since returning from a knee injury after the All-Star break.
3. Portland won the first meeting 118-103 at home to extend its winning streak over Orlando to six games.