Kings at Magic
The first two games of Sacramento's season-high eight-game road trip produced vastly different results. The Kings continue their long sojourn looking to establish some form of consistency when they visit reeling Orlando on Friday. After pasting New York by a 124-86 margin to begin the voyage, Sacramento offered little resistance in a 27-point loss at San Antonio on Wednesday, keeping with a recent trend of lopsided results.
Including the first two games of the road trip, the Kings have had six straight games and 13 of their last 17 decided by double digits. Orlando has stayed much closer with several recent opponents, but has lost four in a row after a 105-100 setback against Phoenix on Wednesday. Victor Oladipo was the bright spot with a career-high 38 points, making four of the Magic's five 3-pointers.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSN California (Sacramento), FSN Florida (Orlando)
ABOUT THE KINGS (21-38): Sacramento is 3-4 since George Karl took over as head coach and the four losses have come by an average of 19 points. The loss to the Spurs came amid a down game for star center DeMarcus Cousins as he works his way back from an ankle injury. Cousins produced 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting while grabbing a season-low three rebounds and committing five turnovers
ABOUT THE MAGIC (19-43): Wednesday's loss featured the first start of the season for center Dewayne Dedmon, who worked alongside fellow 7-footer Nikola Vucevic to give Orlando plenty of size. Dedmon responded with eight rebounds and a 3-of-3 effort from the floor in 21 solid minutes. The second-year pro has 17 boards in 41 minutes over his last two games and contributed eight rebounds and four blocks in a 105-96 win at Sacramento on Dec. 6.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Kings PG Ray McCallum is averaging 11.1 points since being installed into the starting lineup last month.
2. Oladipo is shooting 49.5 percent since the All-Star break after posting a 44.3 percent mark before it.
3. Cousins was limited to 14 points on 5-of-14 in his previous visit to Orlando.