Magic at Wizards
THE STORY: The Orlando Magic made it through the All-Star break with Dwight Howard still in uniform. They have two more weeks to decide if he is going to lead them back to the playoffs. The Magic have won 10 of their 14 games this month but are only 2-2 on the current road trip, which concludes Wednesday at the Washington Wizards. The Wizards came back from the break to suffer their fifth straight loss on Tuesday, though the effort that has been in question throughout most of the season was apparent at the end.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, SunSports (Magic), CS Washington (Wizards)
ABOUT THE MAGIC (22-13): Howard did not back off his trade request despite numerous opportunities during All-Star weekend. Now Orlando has to decide whether to make one last run with its franchise star or trade him away before the March 15 deadline. The Magic have lost to Southeast Division rivals Miami and Atlanta on the current trip. Thursday’s 83-78 loss to the Hawks led to a players-only meeting. “My focus is to keep the guys in the locker room together despite what’s being said on the outside,” Howard said of the meeting. The problem in Atlanta and in Miami came down to shooting, with Orlando shooting less than 38 percent in each contest and combining to go 19 for 61 from 3-point range.
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (7-27): Teams generally don’t have that kind of trouble shooting against Washington. The Wizards have lost two previous meetings with Orlando this season while allowing an average of 106 points. They surrendered 119 at Milwaukee on Tuesday but were still in it at the end, with John Wall getting called for traveling on the last chance. Washington showed some fight in coming back from a 22-point deficit. The Wizards have allowed an average of 110.8 points during their current skid.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Orlando has taken eight straight in the series while averaging 108.3 points.
2. Howard has averaged 18.2 points and 12.5 rebounds in 30 career games against Washington.
3. Wall committed five turnovers Tuesday and has 44 in the last eight games.