Brooklyn @ Orlando preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 23, 2019 ) Orlando 110, Brooklyn 114

The Brooklyn Nets will attempt to defeat the Orlando Magic for the third time in just over two weeks when the teams meet Saturday in Florida. The Nets picked up a two-point win at Orlando on Jan. 18 and followed that up with a four-point triumph over the Magic at home five days later.

Those two victories were part of a six-game winning streak for Brooklyn, which has since dropped two of three games, including Thursday's 117-114 setback at San Antonio in which the Nets held a seven-point lead approaching the middle of the fourth quarter. "They're not going to beat themselves," guard D'Angelo Russell told reporters of the Spurs. "So, when you go to an away game, you've got to come with your hard hat on and be ready to take that win." The Magic snapped a four-game slide with a 107-100 win over the Indiana Pacers on Thursday. The matchup with Brooklyn caps a three-game homestand for Orlando, after which the club plays 11 of its next 16 on the road.

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

ABOUT THE NETS (28-25): Brooklyn is now 2-2 since losing guard Spencer Dinwiddie (thumb surgery), who scored a total of 49 points in 57 minutes in the recent back-to-back wins over the Magic. Russell, who was named as an All-Star reserve Friday in place of the injured Victor Oladipo, reached the 25-point mark in six of his last seven games, including an average or 32.5 in the matchups with Orlando. Shabazz Napier has gobbled up most of Dinwiddie's minutes and is averaging 19.3 points despite shooting 35.6 percent from the floor over the four-game span.

ABOUT THE MAGIC (21-31): Terrence Ross scored a season-high 30 points in the win over the Pacers while center Nikola Vucevic followed up his first career All-Star Game nod with his 35th double-double. "This is really an emotional night for me," Vucevic told reporters of the selection. "It's hard to describe when you put so much work into it for so many years and then it finally pays off. That is really satisfying. My teammates and coaches share just as much credit for this." The team's first All-Star since 2012, Vucevic is averaging 18.5 points, 15.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.5 blocks against Brooklyn.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Nets PF Ed Davis is averaging 11.3 rebounds in 21.8 minutes over his last four games.

2. Ross is 15-for-34 from 3-point range over a four-game stretch.

3. Brooklyn won five of the last six meetings.

PREDICTION: Nets 114, Magic 112