Magic at Wizards
The Washington Wizards look to start moving forward again when they host the Orlando Magic on Monday after snapping a five-game losing streak. The Wizards broke out of a surprising slump with a 114-77 rout of Brooklyn on Saturday minus second-leading scorer Bradley Beal, who is questionable for the Magic game due to a toe injury. Washington tries to extend its winning streak to eight against Orlando, which let a six-point get away in the final minute of a 98-97 loss to Chicago on Sunday.
All-Star point guard John Wall told the Washington Post, “When we have fun, that is when we are at our best. We played the right way tonight,” following the victory over Brooklyn. The Wizards stand 19-8 at home and 21-12 against the Eastern Conference while the Magic dropped 11 of their last 12. It will be the third game for Orlando interim coach James Borrego, who won his debut Friday against the Los Angeles Lakers.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Florida (Orlando), CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington)
ABOUT THE MAGIC (16-38): Orlando put six players in double figures against Chicago and looked poised for another big win, but could not make the plays down the stretch – a common problem for this young team. Center Nikola Vucevic averages a double-double while forward Tobias Harris and Washington-area native Victor Oladipo also score better than 16 points per game. Rookie point guard Elfird Payton is 13-of-19 from the field while averaging 9.3 points and six assists the last three games.
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (32-20): Otto Porter Jr. replaced Beal in the starting lineup against Brooklyn while scoring 12 in 21 minutes and is averaging 10 points and 4.3 rebounds in four career starts. Wall leads the way on offense, averaging 17.5 points and 10.2 assists, and has several capable threats to pass the ball. Paul Pierce (12.6 points), Marcin Gortat (11.6 points, team-best eight rebounds) and Nene (11.3 points) also average in double figures to go along with Beal, who aggravated his toe Thursday against Charlotte.
BUZZER-BEATERS
1. Washington SF Rasual Butler scored 26 points on 11-of-20 shooting the last two games after scoring a total of two in his previous four outings.
2. The Magic have won more games on the road (10) than at home (six) this season after going 4-37 in away contests in 2013-14.
3. The Wizards stood third in the league in 3-point shooting percentage (38.0) and the Magic tied for eighth (36.1) through Saturday’s games.