Brooklyn @ Orlando preview
Kia Center
Last Meeting ( Dec 1, 2024 ) Orlando 100, Brooklyn 92
The Orlando Magic won the first three meetings this season over the Brooklyn Nets by producing plenty of offense and getting big performances by Franz Wagner.
The Magic are a little over three weeks removed from Wagner tearing his right oblique, and their offense is scuffling.
Orlando hopes to rediscover its offense and complete a season sweep Sunday afternoon when it hosts Brooklyn.
Orlando won the first three meetings by a combined 46 points as Wagner scored 78 total points, including a pair of 29-point outings in its 15-point home win on Oct. 25 and its 23-point victory in Brooklyn on Nov. 29.
Those two victories were part of Orlando's run of 12 wins in 13 games from Nov. 8 to Dec. 1, but the Magic are 4-7 since the previous two meetings with Brooklyn. Orlando also is 3-5 in eight games since Wagner was injured in a 102-94 loss at Philadelphia on Dec. 6.
The Magic are averaging 102 points during Wagner's absence. While they own comeback wins over the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics, the offense has not scored 100 or more points in its past four losses, including back-to-back showings under 90 points.
Orlando blew an early 17-point lead in its 89-88 setback to the Heat on Thursday, and a day later the Magic were dominated after halftime in a 108-85 loss to the visiting New York Knicks.
In what matched Orlando's most lopsided loss this season, it was outscored 54-31 after halftime and shot 36.8 percent from the floor for the game -- its third-lowest percentage this season and worst since Wagner was injured.
Orlando also gave up 24 points off 17 turnovers and has allowed 49 points off 40 turnovers in the past two games.
"Same thing we saw last night, turnovers," Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley said. "We were getting the stops that we needed, but we'd come and couldn't convert on the other end because of just careless turnovers. That's the silly ones that lead to easy baskets for them."
Guard Jalen Suggs scored 27 against the Knicks and is averaging 21.1 points in his past seven games. Suggs shot 10-of-20 but the rest of Orlando's starters were a combined 12-of-34 from the floor.
The Nets are 3-9 in their past 12 games since last month's three-game winning streak on the West Coast, and they continue to go with different lineups due to various injuries. Brooklyn used its 16th different starting lineup for Friday's 96-87 home loss to the San Antonio Spurs when Cameron Johnson was held out as a precaution due to a bruised hip.
Johnson fell several times on the court in Thursday's 111-105 victory in Milwaukee when he scored 29 points. But without him on Friday, the Nets scored their fewest points all season in being held under 90 for the first time.
Keon Johnson scored 25 points as the Nets started him and Shake Milton in the backcourt since Ben Simmons was resting on the second half of a back-to-back. Milton added 16 points and 12 assists, but the Nets shot 38.9 percent -- their second-lowest field-goal percentage this season.
"Our ball pressure, I think the guys tried," Brooklyn coach Jordi Fernandez said on Friday. "It was not as good as yesterday, and that's what we needed at the end, is to create more turnovers and do it one way or another, and we couldn't, we couldn't win that battle."
Simmons is expected to return from a planned rest, while the Nets are hopeful Cameron Johnson can return. Johnson is averaging 23.4 points over his past nine games.
--Field Level Media