Magic goal for Raptors’ spiraling season sweep
With a chance to create some distance from the Play-in Tournament rankings, the Magic of Orlando look to complete a two-game sweep in free fall Toronto Raptors when they return home on Sunday.
Orlando (39-28), the fifth seed in the current Eastern Conference standings, enters the game with two straight wins, including Friday’s 113-103 win at Toronto.
On track for their first playoff appearance since 2020 and their best record since the 2010-11 season, the Magic have benefited from a year-long balanced offensive effort from their young core, who was exposed on Friday.
Orlando had six players in double figures against the Raptors, including Franz Wagner’s 19 points and Paolo Banchero’s 17.
In his second season, Banchero led the team with 22.7 points per game, while Wagner, 22, followed with 20 points per game.
On Friday, Banchero nearly finished with a triple-double as he collected nine rebounds and eight assists to go along with his 17 points. The emerging star was held to just six points in the first half before finding his rhythm after halftime.
“(Paolo) is going to continue to attack the basket,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “I thought he did a good job of trying to spray and find guys. Whether his shots fell early or not, he was trying to look for other guys more than anything.”
Since falling to the Mavericks on January 29, Orlando has won 15 of its last 20 games.
For Toronto (23-44), the season has gone from bad to worse of late, with the Raptors in the midst of a season-high six-game losing streak, winning just one game since Feb. 26 .
In what has been a rebuild for the Raptors and first-year coach Darko Rajakovic, the team will miss the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2013, and their .343 winning percentage would be the worst for the franchise. since 2010-11.
A recent bright spot, however, has been the play of Gary Trent Jr.
The 25-year-old shooting guard scored a game-high 31 points, including seven 3-pointers, to lead all scorers in Friday’s loss. Trent missed the Raptors’ previous two games with a groin injury and is scoring 12.7 points per game.
“We have to try to get as many wins as possible,” Trent said of his goal for the rest of the season. “Trying to help win again. We’re still fighting, but there’s a bigger picture. We’re even trying to prepare for next year with little things we want to implement.”
One of Toronto’s top scorers this season, RJ Barrett (19.5 points per game), missed the last two games due to the tragic loss of his younger brother, Nathan. There is no timetable for his return.
The Raptors have also been without All-Star forward Scottie Barnes (19.9 points per game) since March 3, as a broken left hand ruled him out indefinitely.
An Orlando win on Sunday would give the Raptors a three-game season, something the Magic haven’t done since the 2011-12 campaign.
–Field level media
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