Magic at Raptors
Every game is important to the Orlando Magic, who sit a half-game behind the Miami Heat in the battle for the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference. The Toronto Raptors, who host the Magic on Monday, are nearly assured of the No. 2 spot and are just tuning up for the postseason and trying to stay healthy while watching to see who they will play in the first round.
The bottom of the Eastern Conference is tight enough that Orlando is only 1 1/2 games behind the sixth-place Detroit Pistons, and the Magic earned a big win with a 121-116 triumph at Indiana on Saturday. "We've got a lot of talent on this team and when we execute, we're a good team," power forward Aaron Gordon told reporters. "We were late on our defensive coverages a lot of the game, but in the fourth quarter we got a lot better defensively and that helped us win." The Raptors rested All-Star Kawhi Leonard and fellow starter Pascal Siakam on Saturday and still blasted the Chicago Bulls 124-101 to pick up their third straight win. Toronto will play a big role in deciding things at the bottom of the East playoff bracket with games remaining against Orlando, Brooklyn, Charlotte and Miami.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FS Florida (Orlando), TSN (Toronto)
ABOUT THE MAGIC (38-39): Orlando took control behind a strong push from the bench at the beginning of the fourth quarter on Saturday and got 45 points on 18-of-32 shooting from the four reserves in the contest. "It's been a long time since the Magic have been in this position and to finally be there, fighting to get into the playoffs, it's a great feeling helping us succeed," reserve small forward Wesley Iwundu told the team's website. "We've got a mindset we're all playing with, we're gelling as a team and we've just got to keep it going." The Magic recorded a season-high 37 assists in the win, led by 10 from point guard D.J. Augustin.
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (54-23): Toronto has been splitting time in the middle between Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka since Gasol arrived from the Memphis Grizzlies in a deadline deal but got a chance to slip both into the starting lineup with Siakam and Leonard out on Saturday. The two combined for 40 points on 16-of-27 shooting and 20 rebounds in the win while knocking down 5-of-9 from beyond the arc. The Raptors also broke out a two point-guard look with Fred VanVleet and Kyle Lowry starting together and got a combined 14 assists from the pair in the easy victory.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Gordon totaled 43 points on 16-of-27 shooting in the last two games.
2. Raptors SF Norman Powell scored in double figures in each of the last four games, raising his season average to 8.5 points.
3. Orlando took the last two meetings, including a 113-98 victory at Toronto on Feb. 24.