The Orlando Magic returned to winning ways Friday with a resounding 115-87 win over the Detroit Pistons. It was a morale-boosting victory for the Magic who have now won three of their last four games. Starring for Orlando in this contest was Elfrid Payton. The third-year player recorded 14 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his fourth triple-double in the last 10 games.
What proved to be the difference in this one-sided win was Orlando’s terrific ball movement. The Magic dished out a whopping 36 assists as all five of their starters scored in double figures. Orlando shot nearly 52 percent from the field on Friday and 46 percent from 3-point range. The Magic will look to make it back-to-back wins when they square off with the Toronto Raptors tonight. They will fancy their chances of doing just that as they have fared extremely well against the Raptors of late. Orlando leads the season series, 2-1, with the Magic winning each of their last two meetings with the Raptors.
The Magic, however, had Serge Ibaka in their lineup in all three of those games. This time around, the Spanish big man will be suiting up for the enemy. Ibaka has been playing some excellent basketball of late for Toronto, averaging 16.8 points and 7.0 boards over his last four active games.
The Magic are 2-8 SU and 4-6 ATS in their last 10 road games.
There’s just no stopping Toronto right now. The Raptors extended their winning streak to five games with a 94-86 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night. Three players scored in double figures for the Raptors who clinched a playoff spot for a franchise-record fourth consecutive year. Leading the way for the Raptors in this game were DeMar DeRozan and Serge Ibaka. They scored 18 points apiece in this contest. DeRozan’s clearly staking his claim as one of the league’s best players, averaging 27.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game this season.
The Raptors will look to sustain the momentum of that huge win when they lock horns with the Orlando Magic this evening. For the Raptors to accomplish that feat, they will need to continue their excellent play on the defensive end. Opposing teams have scored an average of just 91.2 points over their last five games. They will be licking their chops at the prospect of facing an Orlando side that’s averaging just 100.4 points per game this season, third-worst in the NBA.
The Raptors are 7-1 SU and 4-4 ATS in their last eight home games against the Magic.
