Brooklyn @ Orlando preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 1, 2018 ) Orlando 95, Brooklyn 98

The Brooklyn Nets are playing the best teams in the Eastern Conference tough, they just can't seem to figure out how to hold onto a third-quarter lead. The Nets will try to snap a three-game slide when they visit the Orlando Magic on Wednesday.

Brooklyn squandered a 23-point, second-half lead in a loss to the Charlotte Hornets last Wednesday, was up 14 at East-leading Toronto before falling on Friday and held a nine-point edge at home over Cleveland on Sunday before falling 121-114. "We had three turnovers down the stretch that kind of changed the game," Nets small forward DeMarre Carroll told reporters after the latest setback. "Good teams don't get loose toward the end of the game. We've got to learn that. We've got a young group, but we can't keep preaching the same thing." The Magic are lottery-bound but can draw even at 3-3 on a seven-game homestand with a win Wednesday after snapping a three-game slide by edging Phoenix 105-99 on Saturday. Orlando power forward Aaron Gordon recorded his second consecutive double-double in the win with 29 points on 10-of-18 shooting and 11 rebounds.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, YES (Brooklyn), FS Florida (Orlando)

ABOUT THE NETS (23-51): Small forward Joe Harris is taking advantage of an opportunity at regular minutes with Brooklyn far out of the playoff chase and scored a career-high 30 points on 11-of-14 shooting, including 6-of-7 from 3-point range, in 27 minutes off the bench on Sunday. "We were moving the ball well, and I was able to get room-and-rhythm looks right off the git-go, knocked down my first couple and it just felt good after that," Harris told reporters. Harris is averaging 12.8 points on 61.5 percent shooting over the last five games.

ABOUT THE MAGIC (22-51): The rest of the season is just about development for the Magic, and Gordon taking some momentum into the offseason would be a plus. The 22-year-old has been limited to 50 games this season due to a series of injuries but showed off his all-around game while adding eight assists and three steals against Phoenix. "It's a mixture and a balance of scoring and passing," Gordon told reporters. "If I score, I draw attention from the defense. And once I draw attention, then I pass. Then, the defense tends to leave me (single-covered) when I'm passing and I can score more. It's a balance that I'm still working on as a young player, but my teammates are doing a great job of encouraging me."

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Magic SF Jonathon Simmons (wrist) is expected to miss his fourth consecutive game.

2. Brooklyn PG D'Angelo Russell went 4-of-7 from 3-point range on Sunday after going 3-of-19 in his previous three games.

3. The home team took the last seven in the series, with Orlando earning a 125-121 home win on Oct. 24.

PREDICTION: Nets 116, Magic 114