Magic at Celtics
The Boston Celtics avoided a four-game losing streak with one of their biggest wins of the season and now eye a soft portion of the schedule, beginning Friday at home against the Orlando Magic. The Celtics, who play nine of their next 12 games against teams that entered Thursday with a losing record, snapped their three-game slide with a 120-109 home win over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.
"Three-game losing streak. A really good team in Houston coming in here with a really good player like James Harden. You could say that was the biggest win," guard Isaiah Thomas told the media after scoring 38 points in the win over the Rockets. "Hopefully it gives us more confidence and we can find a rhythm and keep playing this way." Boston has won 11 straight at home over the Magic and it picked up its most lopsided win of the season at Orlando on Dec. 7, a 117-87 rout that came while Thomas was sidelined with a groin injury. That result kicked off an 8-17 swoon for the Magic, who capped a three-game homestand with a 100-92 loss to Chicago on Tuesday. Guards Evan Fournier (foot), Jodie Meeks (thumb) and D.J. Augustin (ankle) all missed the contest as Orlando fell for the ninth time in 11 games.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSN Florida (Orlando), CSN New England (Boston)
ABOUT THE MAGIC (18-29): Fournier, the team's leading scorer (17.0), has missed six games in a row, while Meeks is out indefinitely following thumb surgery and Augustin is day-to-day. Point guard Elfrid Payton has been forced to pick up increased minutes, playing at least 37 minutes in three straight games after reaching that mark just four times through the first 44 contests. Augustin scored a team-high 15 points in the 30-point loss to Boston earlier in the season.
ABOUT THE CELTICS (27-18): Al Horford followed up a 22-point effort in a loss at Washington with 20 points, nine assists, three steals and two blocks in the win over Houston, doing most of it while playing through a groin injury. "I'm fine," Horford told reporters. "I don't know. I just felt something around my groin area. But we'll see how it is (Wednesday) morning." While Horford is probable, guard Avery Bradley (Achilles) is expected to miss his fifth straight game.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Magic PF Serge Ibaka is shooting 44.4 percent from 3-point range in his last seven games.
2. Boston entered Thursday leading the NBA in foul shooting (81.8 percent), while Orlando was 29th (71.8).
3. After a three-game stretch earlier this month in which he totaled 17 points, Celtics F Jae Crowder is averaging 18.6 in a span of seven contests.