Bobcats at Magic
THE STORY: The Charlotte Bobcats keep winning close games and keep having injury woes as they make a late run at landing an Eastern Conference playoff spot. The streaking Bobcats look for their fifth consecutive victory when they visit the Orlando Magic on Friday and will likely be seeking that win without leading scorer Stephen Jackson and two other players. Jackson aggravated a hamstring injury during Wednesday’s victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers while forward Tyrus Thomas (knee) and guard Shaun Livingston (back) are also doubtful participants. The Bobcats trail the Indiana Pacers by one game for the final playoff spot in the East. Charlotte visits Orlando on Wednesday to complete the season series.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSFL.
ABOUT THE MAGIC (47-28): Orlando has lost two straight games to diminish the momentum created during a five-game winning streak. The Magic lost in overtime to the New York Knicks on Monday before falling 85-82 to the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday. Jameer Nelson returned from a knee injury to score 20 points against the Hawks. Dwight Howard had 17 points and 13 rebounds but made just 4 of 13 shots. Guards Jason Richardson and Gilbert Arenas were highly ineffective with Richardson scoring a season-low three points and Arenas going scoreless in 20 minutes while failing to reach double digits for the seventh straight time. The Magic are comfortably set as the fourth seed for the Eastern Conference playoffs.
ABOUT THE BOBCATS (32-42): Charlotte has registered back-to-back one-point victories and also has a two-point win over the Boston Celtics during its four-game winning streak. Forward Boris Diaw stepped up against Cleveland after Jackson left the game and had 26 points and 11 assists for his second 20-point performance in three games. Diaw matched season highs in both categories. Center Kwame Brown also played well with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting and eight rebounds. Brown is the team’s only healthy true center with eight regular-season games remaining with Thursday’s announcement that backup center Joel Przybilla will miss the rest of the season due to pain in his surgically repaired knee.
WHO'S HOT/WHO’S NOT: Orlando forward Hedo Turkoglu is averaging 17.8 points and 6.5 assists over the past four outings. Diaw is averaging 18.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and eight assists over the last three games. Arenas is averaging just 3.7 points and shooting 12 percent (3 of 25) over the last three outings. Charlotte guard D.J. Augustin has made just 10 of 33 shots over the past three contests.
KEY STATISTIC: Charlotte is giving up just 92.5 points during its four-game winning streak. The Bobcats are allowing 96.9 for the season. Orlando averages 99.6 points per game.
SEASON SERIES: Orlando has won both meetings, including a 100-86 home victory on Feb. 27. The Magic also were victorious 91-88 in Charlotte on Nov. 6.
KEY INJURIES: CHARLOTTE: G Stephen Jackson (hamstring); F Tyrus Thomas (knee); G Shaun Livingston (back); C Joel Przybilla (knee). ORLANDO: G Quentin Richardson (back); G Chris Duhon (thumb); G J.J. Redick (abdominal).
LAST WORD: “I just think that we’re really together as a team and we like each other. We’re playing hard together and the chemistry on this team is unbelievable right now.” – Charlotte coach Paul Silas on the club’s four-game winning streak.