Timberwolves at Magic
The Orlando Magic look to build upon an emotional first win of the season when they return home to take on Minnesota on Friday. Tobias Harris' jumper at the buzzer lifted the Magic to a 91-89 victory at Philadelphia on Wednesday, snapping an eight-game losing streak dating to last season and a 12-game slide on the road. Harris continues to emerge as the primary contributor for a young Orlando team that had lost its first four this season by an average of 11.3 points.
The Timberwolves opened up a three-game road trip Wednesday with an impressive 98-91 win at Brooklyn, riding 26 points from Kevin Martin to the club's first victory away from home. Ricky Rubio continued his solid start with 14 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds for Minnesota. Orlando has won nine of the last 11 meetings with the Timberwolves and six in a row at home.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN North (Minnesota), FSN Florida (Orlando)
ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (2-2): In two games since signing a four-year contract extension on Halloween, Rubio has posted averages of 10 points, 14.5 assists, six rebounds and two steals. The 24-year-old continues to show signs of progress with an average of 11 assists - second in the league - and a shooting percentage of 41.9, a less-than-stellar figure that looks fantastic next to the 36.8 percent mark he had through his first three NBA seasons. Rubio had double-doubles in both games against Orlando last season, averaging 15.5 points and 10.5 assists.
ABOUT THE MAGIC (1-4): Orlando acquired veteran forward Channing Frye and shooting guard Evan Fournier to provide a perimeter presence after they combined for 249 3-pointers last season with Phoenix and Denver, respectively. The pair is a combined 16-for-42 from beyond the arc thus far, but there is little help from the rest of the squad - which has gone 10-for-38 - and the Magic rank 27th in the NBA with 5.2 3-pointers per game. They have not performed very well from the foul line as well, ranking 28th with a free-throw percentage of 67.4 and 29th with 12.8 made foul shots per game.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Magic C Nikola Vucevic had five rebounds in the win over Philadelphia after averaging 15 during the season-opening four-game losing streak.
2. Minnesota SG Corey Brewer is 7-for-21 from the floor and has one assist against five turnovers in 85 total minutes this season.
3. Timberwolves C Ronny Turiaf (hip) has yet to play and remains day-to-day.