Toronto @ Orlando preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 27, 2017 ) Orlando 112, Toronto 131

The Toronto Raptors are clinging to the top spot in the Eastern Conference and continue a relatively favorable stretch of the schedule when they visit the stumbling Orlando Magic on Wednesday. Beginning with Monday's 123-94 rout of the Detroit Pistons, the Raptors play seven of nine games against sub-.500 squads with contests against each of the three worst teams in the East entering Tuesday.

Toronto seems primed to pick up a slew of victories after dominating the Pistons by shooting 52.5 percent from the floor and winning the second half by a 64-43 margin to bounce back from an overtime loss to Milwaukee three days earlier. "We really value ourselves as a good team and think of ourselves as one of the great teams in the NBA, so any time you drop one like that, it feels bad around here and you just wanna come back in and get that taste and wash it away," guard Fred VanVleet told reporters. "We did a good job of coming in and tightening up and getting back to the way we play." Wednesday's matchup opens the three-game season series between the Raptors and Magic, who have lost six in a row and sit a half-game out of last place in the East. Opponents are averaging 111.3 points against Orlando during the slide.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, TSN (Toronto), FS Florida (Orlando)

ABOUT THE RAPTORS (42-17): Monday offered up another opportunity for Toronto to rest its starters down the stretch, as All-Stars DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry - who scored 20 points apiece - played 29 and 25 minutes, respectively. The vaunted second unit had 54 points and Pascal Siakam took the lead for the reserves with 11 points, six assists, five rebounds and two blocks in 24 minutes. "I'm really impressed with Pascal, and I think he's doing a heck of a job," coach Dwane Casey told reporters. "His energy is an NBA skill. He sets the tone for that second unit, the speed they play with. He'll embarrass you if you don't play to his speed and tempo."

ABOUT THE MAGIC (18-42): Orlando burst out of the gate with 38 first-quarter points at Oklahoma City on Monday, but it was held to 15 in the third quarter and wound up on the wrong end of a 112-105 decision. "We got stagnant and stopped doing in the second half what we were doing in the first half," guard Jonathon Simmons told the team's website. "Those are great players over there and they capitalize on that. … That's kind of been the theme of this year – teams hit us and we don’t hit back." Simmons scored 19 points while Evan Fournier matched him to record his 33rd straight double-digit scoring effort.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. DeRozan leads the Raptors with 34 minutes per game but has been under that mark in seven of the last nine games.

2. Orlando C Nikola Vucevic is averaging 16.3 points and 7.3 rebounds in three games since returning from a broken hand.

3. The teams split four meetings last season and DeRozan averaged 29.7 points in his three games against the Magic.

PREDICTION: Raptors 114, Magic 106