Magic at Nets
The Brooklyn Nets saw their franchise-record 15-game home winning come to an end Friday and will try to begin another one that extends deep into the playoffs. The Nets, all but locked into the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, look to refine their game going into the postseason when they host the Orlando Magic on Sunday night. Brooklyn has lost its last two, including a 115-111 defeat at Orlando on Wednesday, and the Magic own the league’s worst road record (4-35).
The Nets rested Deron Williams and Shaun Livingston with minor injuries while veterans Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett played in the 93-88 loss to Atlanta on Friday. Joe Johnson was only 4-of-15 from the field in that game after pouring in 31 points against Orlando, which has beaten the Nets two of three. The Magic are 2-1 in their last three with leading scorer Arron Afflalo recording 20.7 points during that span.
TV: 6 p.m. ET, NBATV, FSN Florida (Orlando), YES (Brooklyn)
ABOUT THE MAGIC (23-56): Orlando will finish just under .500 at home, but has dropped eight in a row and 24 of its last 25 games on the road. The Magic, who average more than 100 points at home and 93 on the road while shooting only 42.6 percent from the field, visit Chicago on Monday for their final road game. Tobias Harris is second on the team in scoring (14.9 per game) and Orlando has gotten a boost from Dewayne Dedmon, who is averaging 8.3 rebounds over the last four contests with center Nikola Vucevic (sore left Achilles) out.
ABOUT THE NETS (43-36): Paul Pierce became the 18th player in NBA history to reach 25,000 points Friday to join teammate Kevin Garnett and the two former Boston Celtics veterans look to be healthy as the playoffs begin. Garnett played three of the previous four games after missing 19 straight with a back injury and Pierce is shooting 51.2 percent over his last four contests. Johnson leads a balanced offense at 15.8 points and Williams, who missed the last contest due to a right knee injury, is at 14.3.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Nets F Mirza Telotovic has made 16-of-33 (48.5 percent) from behind the 3-point arc the last five games.
2. Afflalo needs five field goals for 2,000 in his career while six made free throws and two assists will give him 1,000 in both categories.
3. Brooklyn G Marcus Thornton is averaging 11.7 points over 23 games since being acquired from Sacramento, where he scored 8.3.