Jockeying for position in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, the Orlando Magic look to snap a two-game skid when they host the reeling Toronto Raptors on Sunday.
Orlando has dropped three of its last four and entered Saturday a half-game behind the Miami Heat and 1 1/2 games ahead of the Atlanta Hawks in the eighth spot in the conference.
In an injury-riddled season, the Magic have lost third-leading scorer Jalen Suggs (16.2 points per game) indefinitely with a left knee injury, as well as Moritz Wagner (12.9 ppg), who tore his ACL in December.
Orlando has struggled to find a third scorer behind stars Franz Wagner (25 ppg) and Paolo Banchero (23.7), a trend that continued in Thursday’s 121-115 home loss to the Golden State Warriors. Banchero had 41 points followed by Wagner’s 27, but no other Magic player scored more than 11.
For head coach Jamahl Mosley, his team showed fight following Tuesday’s 40-point loss to the Cavaliers.
“If we can respond the way we did, play that hard consistently and show energy and have that spirit, we are going to put ourselves in a very good position,” Mosley said. “We always respond. That’s going to put us in a better position if we can continue to play that hard and understand what we can learn from this game.”
The Raptors, who will play two consecutive games in Orlando, enter Sunday having lost three straight and 9 of 11 overall. Toronto led by 16 early in the fourth quarter in Chicago on Friday and held a four-point lead with four seconds left before fouling Coby White on a made 3-pointer, sending the game to overtime. The Raptors were then outscored 15-5 in the extra session.
“That was a tough loss tonight for us and we’ve got to bounce back,” Toronto head coach Darko Rajakovic said postgame. “But when you look at the box score and see (Chicago) scored 28 points in transition, that’s the whole game there. We did a good job the first three quarters of keeping them from scoring in transition, and the last quarter it got away from us really quick.”
With the Raptors likely to miss the playoffs for a third straight season, the play of the franchise’s young core bodes well for the future. RJ Barrett leads the team with 21.7 points per game, followed by Scottie Barnes (20.0), Immanuel Quickley (16.2) and Gradey Dick (14.6), each 25 or younger. Ochai Agbaji, 24, who averages 10 points, left Friday’s loss with a left foot injury and has been ruled out for Sunday.
The team split a pair of meetings earlier this season in Toronto, with the Magic earning a 106-97 victory on Jan. 3 and the Raptors posting a 109-93 win on Jan. 21.
–Field Level Media
