The Washington Wizards will continue their last-gasp playoff push against the visiting Orlando Magic on Friday.

The Wizards (34-42) have won two of their past three games to move to within two games of the Chicago Bulls (36-40) for the 10th — and final — playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Magic (32-44), who ended a three-game winning streak with a 113-108 loss at Memphis on Tuesday, are four games out of the last spot.

Washington, which has six games left, is coming off a 130-111 win over the visiting Boston Celtics on Tuesday behind Kristaps Porzingis’ 32 points, 13 rebounds and six assists. Deni Avdija added a double-double with a career-high 25 points and 10 rebounds to go along with five assists, while Monte Morris finished with 19 points and nine assists.

Corey Kispert and Kendrick Nunn added 15 and 12 points, respectively, for the Wizards, who were without Bradley Beal (sore left knee) and Kyle Kuzma (sprained right ankle).

“Probably the best pace, for 36 to 40 minutes, that we’ve seen all year,” Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. said. “After makes, misses (Wizards) were able to accumulate quite a few fast break points. Not all those were just off of misses. So being able to play with pace and kind of get stuff early in the clock I thought helped us.”

Beal, who averages 23.2 points and 5.4 assists per game, and Kuzma (21.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists), are game-time decisions against Orlando. Unseld said hasn’t decided if he will shut the duo down the rest of the season.

The Magic, who also have six games remaining, will be hard-pressed to make the playoffs.

Orlando ended its three-game winning streak — its longest since winning a season-high six straight from Dec. 7-Dec. 18 — after its rally against the Grizzlies came up short. The Magic cut a 23-point third-quarter deficit to 105-100 with 38 seconds remaining before the Grizzlies secured the win at the free-throw line.

The Magic, who were outscored 32-15 in the opening quarter, were led by Paolo Banchero’s 24 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, while Franz Wagner added 25 points.

“Being ready to go from the beginning of the game. That’s the biggest key,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “Knowing (the Grizzlies) are a playoff team that’s fighting for a championship, they’re going to come out and set the tone early. Our guys felt that right off the bat.”

This will be the final meeting between the Magic and Wizards this season.

The Wizards knocked off host Orlando 119-100 behind Porzingis’ 30 points and 13 rebounds on Dec. 30 before beating the visiting Magic 138-118 on Jan. 21.

The Magic won the most recent meeting 122-112 on March 21 for their first victory in their past eight games against the Wizards. Banchero had 18 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, while the Wizards were led by Porzingis’ 30 points.

–Field Level Media

The Brooklyn Nets saw their lead in the race to avoid the play-in game grow a little more comfortable because of favorable results in the fourth quarter against the Houston Rockets and help from the New York Knicks on Wednesday.

After pulling away down the stretch from the Western Conference’s worst team, the Nets get another chance at widening their lead for sixth place in the Eastern Conference on Friday night when they host the eighth-place Atlanta Hawks.

Brooklyn (41-35) has six games left with five at home. The Nets are 1 1/2 games ahead of Miami and completed a three-game season sweep of the Heat with a 129-100 victory on Saturday.

While the Heat were faltering down the stretch in a 101-92 loss to the Knicks, the Nets did enough in the final minutes of their 123-114 victory over the Rockets.

“We (have) six games left. They’re all super important for us,” Brooklyn’s Cameron Johnson said. “There’s no excuse for how we played the first 40 minutes of the game, but we were able to clean it up and come out of it with a win.”

In their first home appearance since falling apart late in a 116-114 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on March 23, the Nets ended Wednesday by outscoring Houston 18-4 in the final three-plus minutes.

Brooklyn got it done thanks to Johnson and Bridges, who combined for 21 points in the fourth. The Nets also hit nine 3-pointers in the final 12 minutes and scored 37 points in the fourth after averaging 27.5 points in the final period during a four-game home skid.

“I thought overall our drive and kick was really good,” Brooklyn coach Jacque Vaughn said. “What a difference when that ball goes through the hoop. It shows growth from just a week ago.”

Johnson scored 31 points on 11-of-18 shooting while Bridges added 27. The duo had better help than in Sunday’s 13-point loss in Orlando as Spencer Dinwiddie added 20 after going 0-of-11 from the floor against the Magic in the second night of a back-to-back.

Atlanta (38-38) shares the same record as Toronto but sits in eighth because it won two of three meetings with the Raptors. The Hawks are 1 1/2 games behind Miami and two up on the Chicago Bulls, who visit Charlotte Friday.

Atlanta is 14-16 since winning five straight Jan. 13-20. During that span, the Hawks have been at .500 15 times and evened their record yet again with Tuesday’s 120-118 home win over the fourth-place Cleveland Cavaliers.

Atlanta was able to overcome 44 points by Cleveland star Donovan Mitchell by placing seven in double figures. Dejounte Murray bounced back with 29 points after a combined 11-for-31 shooting effort in his first two games back from a brief absence due to a non-COVID-19 illness.

“Just knowing we’re in a must-win situation, trying just to control the Atlanta Hawks,” Murray said. “We came out ready to play for 48 minutes and got a great win.”

Onyeka Okongwu added a season-best 21 to help the Hawks overcome a quiet night from star Trae Young. Young was held to 16 points on 4-of-15 shooting though he had 10 assists for the second straight game.

The Nets won two of the first three meetings, though Atlanta earned a 129-127 home win on Feb. 26 when Young scored 34 and hit the game-winning 12-foot jumper.

–Field Level Media

The Chicago Bulls need a boost and their schedule might suggest one is on the way with a road game against the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night.

But the Hornets haven’t been pushovers lately, even with more players joining the injury list.

The Bulls simply need to get well soon after losing three of their last five games.

Chicago (36-40) has slipped to 10th in the Eastern Conference, its situation made worse with Wednesday night’s 121-110 home loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Meanwhile the Hornets (26-51) have bruised the playoff aspirations of the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder over the past week. They beat the Mavericks twice.

Zach LaVine has led the Bulls in scoring in three of the past four games, but scored just 16 points in the latest clash with the Lakers.

Chicago has been ailing to a degree as well. Guard Alex Caruso returned to action Wednesday after missing Monday’s game with a foot injury, but he logged only 19 minutes and scored five points.

Coach Billy Donovan said he didn’t like the way Caruso was moving and that caused the limited playing time.

“Alex is going to give everything he’s got,” Donovan said. “It’s an ongoing challenge for him.”

Andre Drummond didn’t play Wednesday night because of personal reasons that have been connected to mental health.

That situation could be a distraction for the Bulls.

“A lot of times as we come here and play games, there’s also a human side and personal side to all these guys,” Donovan said. “And you feel bad when anybody is going through something like that.”

For Charlotte, the absence of key players has contributed to the blossoming of forward P.J. Washington’s career. He racked up a career-high 43 points in Tuesday night’s 137-134 victory at Oklahoma City.

“Everybody played together,” Washington said. “We got good shots. We played for each other. I’m proud of these guys. Credit to my teammates getting me in the right spots. I was just trying to be aggressive with the shots that I did take and just get in the paint and take easy shots. I felt like I got going early and just tried to keep at it.”

The Hornets played at Oklahoma City without starters Gordon Hayward (thumb), Terry Rozier (foot) and Kelly Oubre Jr. (shoulder) and reserve Dennis Smith Jr. (toe).

While Washington has played well at times during his career with the Hornets, he rarely would be described as a go-to-option. Then came Tuesday night.

“PJ was obviously terrific,” coach Steve Clifford said. “We had the stretch where we were able to build the lead just playing through him. He scored. He created shots for everybody else.”

It wasn’t just a one-game splurge for Washington. He has led Charlotte in scoring in three of the past four games.

Perhaps the teamwork has picked up because the Hornets have won three games in a row.

“Our ball movement was good,” Clifford said of the Oklahoma City game. “We had 34 assists.”

And the Hornets didn’t let up. In fact, they got better with the game on the line. Their 44 fourth-quarter points tied for the fourth-highest total in franchise history.

The Bulls are 2-1 this season against Charlotte, which launches a four-game homestand Friday.

–Field Level Media

NBA star Stephen Curry agreed to a long-term extension with Under Armour, ensuring he will continue to “Protect This House” beyond his playing career.

Terms of the deal announced on Thursday were not disclosed. ESPN reported it could be one of the most lucrative endorsement arrangements in sports when you add up the Golden State Warriors guard’s annual base pay, stock equity, royalties on signature brands and on-court incentive bonuses.

“I couldn’t imagine Under Armour without Stephen, or Stephen without Under Armour,” company founder Kevin Plank said.

Curry, 35, has been with Under Armour since 2013. The two-time MVP, four-time champion and nine-time All-Star launched the Curry Brand in 2020.

Curry, whose 10th signature sneaker with Under Armour launched this year, now holds the title of president of the Curry Brand.

“With the opportunity to deepen the partnership, with an expectation of it going past my playing days and the added investment in the great things that we both bring to the table, it’s an exciting time to strengthen that partnership,” Curry said. “We understand that it’s a mutually beneficial venture to do some great things, build a great roster, build more scale to the business and create great storytelling.”

Curry, who remains one of the NBA’s leading scorers at 29.6 points per game in his 14th season, said the extension will allow him to focus on signing new athletes as Curry Brand endorsers.

“I do have a lot left to accomplish on the court, however long I am playing. Hopefully, it’s no time soon that I’m thinking about calling it quits,” Curry said. “We’re going to have an investment in the roster of athletes — men and women, from various sports — that want to be a part of the UA and Curry Brand family. That’s where I think the biggest growth can come.”

Curry’s previous deal with Under Armour was set to expire in 2024. Plank and Curry met last week in Dallas to sign the finalized contracts.

“It begins with the person. One of the best things about Stephen that makes this deal so easy is that he truly is a better person than he is a basketball player,” Plank said. “And man, he’s the best in the world at one of those, so that’s a pretty big statement.”

–Field Level Media