Celtics at Magic
Fresh off an impressive road trip that may have altered the outlook for the rest of their season, the Orlando Magic return home Wednesday to take on the Boston Celtics. Despite 52 points from Washington guard John Wall, the Magic got past the Wizards 124-116 on Tuesday to cap a 4-1 trek.
Elfrid Payton scored a season-high 25 points - 22 in the second half - as Orlando matched its longest winning streak of the season at three games. The Celtics are 1-1 on their three-game voyage - winning and losing a pair of 107-106 decisions - and could be without Isaiah Thomas. The point guard suffered a groin injury in Monday's loss at Houston and did not practice the next day, according to reports. The home team has won the last 11 meetings between Boston and Orlando, with Thomas scoring a game-high 28 points to lead the Celtics to a 107-96 triumph at TD Garden in the final matchup last season.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSN New England (Boston), FSN Florida (Orlando)
ABOUT THE CELTICS (12-9): Boston shuffled its lineup against Houston by inserting Jonas Jerebko into one of the starting forward spots, and he went 2-of-3 from long distance to give himself a remarkable 11-of-14 run over the course of nine games. Marcus Smart, who would gain the bulk of the minutes if Thomas cannot go, scored 13 points in the loss for his best total since Nov. 9. The Celtics would love to steal a win in Orlando before embarking on a stretch in which it plays Toronto, Oklahoma City and San Antonio - three teams that have a combined 46-19 record.
ABOUT THE MAGIC (10-12): Orlando entered Tuesday ranked 29th in the NBA in scoring (93.2) and its 124 points at Washington were a season high. Payton hit all three of his 3-point tries and fellow reserve Jodie Meeks was 4-of-5 as a four-man bench combined to produce 73 points, 16 rebounds and 16 assists. Backup forward Jeff Green recorded 20 of those points and is averaging 16 while shooting 56.1 percent in a four-game span.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Celtics G Avery Bradley has grabbed 28 rebounds over his last three games and raised his average for the season to eight - more than five above his career mark.
2. Magic C Nikola Vucevic has recorded seven double-doubles in his last eight contests.
3. Boston recalled rookie G Demetrius Jackson from the D-League for extra depth in case Thomas cannot play.