Magic at Wizards
After a winless homestand against teams with losing records, the Orlando Magic have surprisingly found their footing on the road. They will try to keep the momentum through the finale of the trip when they visit the Washington Wizards on Tuesday.
The Wizards were one of the three sub-.500 teams that dealt Orlando a loss in a homestand that began just before Thanksgiving, but the Magic are 3-1 thus far on their five-game trip, including a victory at San Antonio and another Sunday against a Detroit team that had won five of six. "I'm proud of our guys, because that team was averaging 118 points their last three games, and that was on the road," Orlando coach Frank Vogel told reporters after the 98-92 triumph over the Pistons. "We held them to 92, and most of that was our second-half defense. They were at home, and they got 42 points on 37 percent shooting in the second half." Washington is a respectable 5-4 after opening the season 2-8. John Wall led seven players in double figures with 25 points in Monday's 118-113 win over the Brooklyn Nets, which salvaged the finale of a three-game road trip for the Wizards.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Florida (Orlando), CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington)
ABOUT THE MAGIC (9-12): Opponents are averaging 89.5 points against Orlando on the road trip and forward Serge Ibaka was a big force on the defensive end against Detroit with a season high-tying four blocks and a season-high three steals. He also had 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting and has scored at least 16 in five of his last six games. One of those was a 19-point, eight-rebound, four-block effort in the 94-91 loss to Washington last month.
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (7-12): Wall added 13 assists Monday night and has recorded four straight double-doubles - six in his last seven games. Marcin Gortat has been trying to keep pace with Wall in that category and he picked up his third consecutive double-double (10 points, 12 rebounds) versus Brooklyn. He fell a rebound shy of another in the recent win over Orlando but still has the team-lead with 12, one more than Wall.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Washington won 12 straight meetings before an 88-86 loss at Orlando on Nov. 5.
2. Magic F Jeff Green is averaging 10.4 points on 41 percent shooting in 12 games off the bench, compared to 5.9 points on 28.8 percent in eight starts.
3. Wizards SG Bradley Beal has made at least three 3-pointers in five straight games.