Magic at Wizards
The Washington Wizards have cooled off a bit after a blazing stretch and look to post a win before taking off for a difficult road trip when they entertain the inconsistent Orlando Magic on Sunday. The Wizards are 2-3 in their last five outings after winning 18 of the previous 21 contests and embark on a busy five-game road trip over a seven-day period, starting in Phoenix on Tuesday.
Washington fell 114-106 to Toronto on Friday after beating the same team on its home court two days earlier and coach Scott Brooks told reporters: “We didn’t have the same defensive urgency to start the game.” The standout backcourt duo of John Wall and Bradley Beal combined for 57 points Friday and will attack an Orlando team that is one of two in the league averaging under 100 per contest. The Magic have shown signs of improvement lately with a pair of wins against red-hot Miami during a 3-3 stretch, including the 110-99 triumph on Friday night at home. “We’re trying to learn how to win as a group,” Orlando coach Frank Vogel told reporters. “Whatever that means – if we’ve got to change things in the rotation and change our style of play – whatever it means to get W’s, this organization has to feel that.”
TV: 5 p.m. ET, FSN Florida (Orlando), CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington)
ABOUT THE MAGIC (23-39): Center Nikola Vucevic scored 20 per game over his last four outings and is averaging a double-double for the season at 14.4 points and 10.1 rebounds. Shooting guard Evan Fournier (16.6) is the only player topping Vucevic in the scoring department, but newly-acquired forward Terrence Ross has chipped in 13.3 per in four games since coming over from Toronto in the Serge Ibaka trade. Forward Aaron Gordon has been quite productive of late - averaging 16.3 points in the last three contests after pouring in 21 on Friday.
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (36-24): Washington did not get much from its bench Friday as five players combined for 14 points on 5-of-17 from the field, including guard Brandon Jennings (0-for-3, two assists, 10 minutes) in his debut with the team. Beal is averaging a robust 27.4 points over the last five games and combines with Wall to produce more than 40 percent of the team’s offense. Bojan Bogdanovic has provided a bit of a spark while averaging 13.2 points in five games since being acquired from Brooklyn, but was held to six in Friday’s contest.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Magic have won two of three meetings this season - including a 124-116 triumph Dec. 6 at Washington - after losing 12 in a row in the series.
2. Washington C Marcin Gortat has two double-doubles in his last seven games after posting seven in the previous eight contests.
3. Orlando PG Elfrid Payton was two assists shy of a triple-double Friday and is averaging 13.2 points on the road as opposed to 11.4 at home.