Nets at Magic
After opening their home schedule by knocking off the two-time defending champion Miami Heat, the Brooklyn Nets look to build some momentum in a Sunday matchup in Orlando with the Magic. Paul Pierce and Joe Johnson scored 19 points apiece against the Heat on Friday to help the Nets shake off the sting of an opening night loss at Cleveland. Pierce leads the Nets, averaging 18 points, after coming to Brooklyn with Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry in an offseason trade with Boston.
Orlando got 30 points from Arron Afflalo and had six players in double figures against the Pelicans, shooting 55.7 percent from the field in a 110-90 victory on Friday. The Magic have won five straight home openers and used the friendly confines to get past consecutive road losses to start the season. Afflalo has averaged 22.3 points in the early-going to lead Orlando, which will play nine of its next 13 games at home.
TV: 6 p.m. ET, YES (Brooklyn), FSN Florida (Orlando)
ABOUT THE NETS (1-1): Point guard Deron Williams is slowly easing his way back from an ankle injury and saw his minutes increase by five to 27 against Miami, finishing with eight points and eight assists. The Nets have high hopes this season, but even with the excitement of a win over the big-ticket Heat, Brooklyn is mindful of getting ahead of itself and is humble enough to critique its own game. "We had a pretty solid lead and let them chip away," Williams told the New York Post. "We have to do a better job, and that'll come as we play together and get more comfortable."
ABOUT THE MAGIC (1-2): Orlando honored its past in the home opener - celebrating the franchise's 25th anniversary with a video tribute to former stars - but the Magic also got a nice peek at the future, with double-digit scoring outputs from Maurice Harkless (20 points), Kyle O'Quinn (14), Victor Oladipo (10) and Nikola Vucevic (10). Oladipo, Orlando's first-round draft choice, second overall, is averaging 12 points in his first three games and ranks second behind point guard Jameer Nelson with 12 assists.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Brooklyn went 4-0 against Orlando last season, winning by an average of 22.3 points.
2. Orlando PF Solomon Jones missed the New Orleans game after suffering a torn lateral meniscus against Minnesota and is out indefinitely.
3. The Nets got 36 points from their bench against Miami, led by Andray Blatche with nine.