Orlando @ Atlanta preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 8, 2018 ) Atlanta 98, Orlando 100

The Atlanta Hawks host the Orlando Magic on Sunday in a matchup of the two worst teams in the Eastern Conference, and they will do so without their leading scorer. Point guard Dennis Schroder suffered a medial bone bruise and a sprained left ankle against Golden State on March 23, and his 19.4 points and 6.2 assists per game will be sidelined for Atlanta’s final six contests.

Schroder joins fellow guard Kent Bazemore, the Hawks’ third-leading scorer at 12.9 points per game, on the shelf for the rest of the way. Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer indicated before Friday’s 101-91 home loss to Philadelphia that several players on the roster, including Isaiah Taylor (12 points with seven assists against the 76ers) will share time at the point in the final six games. The Magic held Chicago to nine points in the third quarter Friday, only to go scoreless for almost six minutes in the fourth quarter of a 90-82 home loss. “I thought there were a handful of possessions that set up a poor fourth quarter by trying to go for the knockout punch, the dagger 3s, and just trying to force it a little bit when we had them on the ropes,” Orlando coach Frank Vogel told the media afterward.

TV: 6 p.m. ET, FS Florida (Orlando), FS Southeast (Atlanta)

ABOUT THE MAGIC (22-53): Orlando beat the Hawks on Feb. 8, but in 21 games since the Magic have allowed 106.1 points per game in going 4-17 during that stretch. Forward Aaron Gordon scored a game-high 18 points against Chicago and is averaging a team-leading 18.2 points to go along with 8.3 rebounds per game. Center Nikola Vucevic averages 17.1 points and a team-high 9.2 rebounds per contest for the Magic, who play four of their next six games on the road.

ABOUT THE HAWKS (21-55): Rookie guard Damion Lee has averaged 10.4 points in his first nine NBA games, scoring a team-high 20 points on 8-of-17 shooting Friday. Another rookie, forward John Collins, is sixth in the NBA in field-goal shooting (58.3 percent) while averaging 10.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Atlanta is 1-11 in its past 12 games and opponents are scoring 113.9 points per game against the Hawks during that stretch.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Magic lead the season series 2-1 and have beaten the Hawks six times in the past 10 meetings.

2. The Hawks recorded a season-high 59 rebounds in Friday’s loss, led by C Dewayne Dedmon’s 15.

3. Orlando SF Wesley Iwundu was scratched from Friday’s lineup due to an illness, and SG Rodney Purvis scored five points in 23 minutes in his second NBA start.

PREDICTION: Magic 106, Hawks 99