Nets at Magic
The Brooklyn Nets entered the week as one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the NBA but may have found the answer. Wayne Ellington will try to carry his hot shooting over to Wednesday, when the Nets visit the Orlando Magic.
Brooklyn is tied for 28th in the league with an average of 5.5 made 3-pointers, and coach Lionel Hollins decided to switch up his backcourt to start the third quarter on Monday in an effort to generate some offense. Ellington grabbed the opportunity and ended up matching a career high with seven 3-pointers in the contest as the Nets earned their second win in the last nine games. The Magic are winners of six of their last eight games and bounced back from a lackluster effort with a 104-89 win over New Orleans on Monday. Orlando limited Brooklyn to 38.8 percent from the floor and had six players score in double figures in a 105-82 win at the Nets on Dec. 14.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, YES (Brooklyn), FSN Florida (Orlando)
ABOUT THE NETS (9-22): Hollins was frustrated with his entire starting five at the half on Monday and decided to push Ellington and Shane Larkin off the bench in the third quarter. “We were down 14 (going into the locker room), and we looked like we weren’t going anywhere,” Hollins told reporters. “We looked like we were dying, and I needed a spark.” Ellington, who averages 5.9 points, scored 23 of his 26 in the second half on Monday and figures to see more playing time against Orlando, which is limiting opponents to 33.9 percent from beyond the arc.
ABOUT THE MAGIC (18-13): Nikola Vucevic went 8-of-13 from the floor in the Dec. 14 win over the Nets and continues to increase his level of play with six straight 20-plus outings. The 25-year-old center went for a season-high 28 points and added seven assists in Monday’s triumph. “He’s showing everything. He’s playing really well and really efficient and we’re feeding him,” Magic guard Tobias Harris told reporters of Vucevic. “We know when we get him the basketball that he can get us a bucket. There are times in games when he bails us out and that’s what big-time players do. He’s been stepping up.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Magic F Evan Fournier is averaging 16.4 points on 50 percent shooting in the last five games.
2. Brooklyn C Brook Lopez recorded a double-double in four of the last five games.
3. Orlando PG Elfrid Payton suffered an ankle injury in the first quarter on Monday but returned to the game and managed six points in 22 minutes.