addByline("Jeremy Hyman", "WashingtonWizards.com", "JeremyHyman");
The Wizards look to carry their momentum south as they begin their road trip tonight in Orlando.
Game Info
Amway Center | 7:00 p.m. | NBCSW | 1500 AM
Probable Starters
Wizards (29-22): G - Satoransky, G - Beal, F - Porter Jr., F - Morris, C - Gortat
Magic (15-35): G - Payton, G - Fournier, F - Simmons, F - Speights, C - Biyombo
Wizards: John Wall (Knee - Out), Sheldon Mac (Achilles - Out)
Magic: Aaron Gordon (Hip - Questionable), Jonathan Isaac (Ankle - Out), Terrence Ross (Knee - Out), Nikola Vucevic (Hand - Out)
Storylines
Wizards on a Roll
With a victory tonight, the Wizards can tie their longest winning streak of the season (four) as they begin another road trip against a divisional opponent. Over the last week, the Wizards have played some of their best basketball of the season and they've done so with John Wall sidelined with a knee injury. Without their All-Star point guard in the lineup, others have stepped up to help lead them to three straight wins, including consecutive home wins over the Thunder and the Raptors. In Thursday's win over Toronto, the Wizards had eight players reach double figures and the team dished out 30 assists, their fourth straight game recording 25+ assists. The Wizards have assisted on 72% of their baskets over the last four games, the highest mark in the league.
Magic Scored 127 on Wednesday
The Magic may have only won three games in January, but they are coming off their second-highest point total of the season as they blew out the Lakers, 127-106 on Wednesday night in Orlando. Marreese Speights had a season-high 21 points and seven Magic players finished in double figures in the win. The win snapped a three-game losing streak for Orlando, but they still enter tonight just one game ahead of Atlanta for the worst record in the Eastern Conference. They did beat the Celtics in Boston just two weeks ago and have enough talent to upset certain teams, so the Wizards will need to bring the same kind of energy they've played with all week to get another win tonight.
Season Series with Orlando
The Wizards have scored 125+ points in each of their previous two meetings with Orlando, with the most recent win coming about three weeks ago in D.C. While the first meeting was a blowout home win for Washington, the Magic kept the second one close as the Wiz hung on for a 125-119 victory. John Wall and Bradley Beal had 30 points apiece and Ian Mahinmi added a season-high 17 points off the bench. The Wizards shot 57% from the field and scored a season-high 74 points in the paint. Elfrid Payton scored 27 points to lead Orlando and he's averaging 28.5 points per game in the two games against Washington this season. The Wiz have won 16 of the last 18 games in the series, dating back to 2013.
Up next, the Wizards head to Indiana to play the Pacers on Monday night. (7:00 p.m.)