Spurs at Magic
The Orlando Magic are starting to show signs of improvement, but there's a big difference between playing better and playing consistently. Following wins at Atlanta and versus Philadelphia, Orlando looks to make it three in a row when it hosts the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night. "We gotta try to be more consistent," said Magic center Nikola Vucevic. "We can't win every game ... but we gotta try to play the way we played the last two games."
Vucevic has probably been Orlando's most consistent player this season, as the 23-year-old has nine double-doubles, including 21 points and 16 rebounds in Wednesday's 11-point win over the 76ers. The Spurs, of course, have been a model of consistency for more than a decade, though their 11-game winning streak ended Wednesday night at Oklahoma City. Tony Parker led San Antonio with 16 points and seven assists, while Kawhi Leonard had 14 points and 10 rebounds.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Southwest (San Antonio), FSN Florida (Orlando)
ABOUT THE SPURS (13-2): Tim Duncan has only reached 20 points in a game once this season, and he only has one double-digit rebounding effort. In his last nine games, Duncan has made more than five field goals only once. With 11 points on 5-of-14 shooting on Wednesday, Duncan was one of five Spurs players to score in double figures, though the team only shot 39.1 percent, including 7-of-27 from 3-point range.
ABOUT THE MAGIC (6-9): Prior to this week's back-to-back wins, the Magic had lost four straight games and seven of their previous eight. Arron Afflalo, Orlando's leading scorer, has increased his scoring average in every season of his seven-year career, capped by his 21.7 figure this season. Rookie Victor Oladipo played a career-high 42 minutes against the Sixers, registering 18 points for the second straight game in addition to five assists and a career high-tying five steals.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Spurs' 88 points against the Thunder marked their second-lowest output of the season.
2. The final eight victories during San Antonio's 11-game winning streak all came by at least nine points.
3. The Magic are just 15-34 all-time against the Spurs, though they have won four of the last seven meetings in Orlando.