Raptors at Magic
Kawhi Leonard gave the Toronto Raptors a chance at a winning three-game road trip with 30 points at Miami on Wednesday and he is averaging 30.4 points in his last five games. Leonard will try to lead the NBA-best Raptors to a fourth win in five games when they visit the Orlando Magic on Friday.
Leonard sat out to rest on the second night of a back-to-back Saturday at Philadelphia and watched Toronto drop a 126-101 decision, but he was rested enough to return on Wednesday and help his team overcome a 17-point deficit. "Guys wanna win," Leonard told reporters. "(Coach) Nick (Nurse) does a great job of making everyone feel comfortable and letting them play their game and I think that's a big part (of our success)." The Magic are enduring a four-game losing streak that has them out of the top eight in the Eastern Conference and dropped a 122-120 overtime decision to the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday. Orlando, which at least snapped a string of seven straight games failing to reach 100 points, missed its final nine field-goal attempts in overtime.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Sportsnet One (Toronto), FS Florida (Orlando)
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (26-10): All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry sat out Wednesday with a back injury and missed five of the last six games, leaving him questionable for Friday. Stepping up in Lowry's absence on Wednesday was point guard Fred VanVleet, who got the start and knocked down four 3-pointers en route to 16 points - his sixth straight game scoring in double figures. Power forward Serge Ibaka (knee) returned from a three-game absence at Miami and struggled to six points on 2-of-10 shooting but made the most important pass of the game when he found Danny Green in the corner for a go-ahead 3-pointer with 22 seconds left.
ABOUT THE MAGIC (14-19): Orlando had four starters log at least 35 minutes on Wednesday and coach Steve Clifford is losing faith in a bench unit that struggles to keep up with other teams. "Our job is to either gain or maintain a lead and when we're not able to do that it's pretty tough for our starters," rookie reserve center Mo Bamba told reporters. "Practice, compete in practice and just try to get better every day. I think we've taken a step offensively, but a step defensively backward." The four reserves who saw time on Wednesday were a combined minus-50 in plus/minus.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Magic SG Evan Fournier is 12-of-24 from 3-point range over the last three games.
2. Green went 4-of-7 from beyond the arc on Wednesday after hitting 3-of-15 in his previous three games.
3. Toronto took the last five in the series, including a 93-91 victory at Orlando on Nov. 20.