The Orlando Magic get their first look at the team with the league’s best record on Saturday.
Orlando continues a four-game Western Conference road trip with a matchup against the Phoenix Suns. The teams play twice this season with the other meeting set for March 8 in central Florida.
The Magic, coming off a 114-99 loss to the Utah Jazz on Friday in Salt Lake City, have won on six of their last 10 trips to Phoenix.
The Suns are 23-5 at home this season, including a 131-107 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday in a one-sided rematch of the 2021 NBA Finals. Phoenix pulled away with a 66-43 scoring edge over the middle two quarters.
The Suns are riding a four-game winning streak, and they have prevailed in 15 of their past 16 contests.
Chris Paul scored 17 points and tied his season high with 19 assists against Milwaukee. Paul, who is averaging a league-best 10.6 assists and, became the fourth guard in NBA history to register 500 career double-doubles. He joined Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson and John Stockton.
“When you’re a point guard, you’re sort of like a quarterback out there,” Paul said postgame Thursday. “So, I got a lot of dope receivers. They got the hard part — making shots.”
Deandre Ayton paced seven Suns in double figures against Milwaukee with a game-high 27 points on 12-for-14 shooting. Phoenix hit 56.7 percent from the floor as Mikal Bridges scored 18 points, Devin Booker had 17 and Cameron Johnson came off the bench to record 15 points and eight rebounds in addition to making three of the Suns’ nine 3-pointers.
Phoenix made a pair of deals before Thursday’s trade deadline. The Suns re-acquired Torrey Craig — a valuable piece from last season’s Finals team — from the Indiana Pacers in exchange for Jalen Smith and a 2022 second-round pick. The Suns also landed Aaron Holiday from the Washington Wizards.
Craig scored 22 points, making a career-high five 3-pointers, for the Pacers in a 119-118 loss to Orlando on Feb. 2.
Orlando acquired Bol Bol, who is out for the season following foot surgery, P.J. Dozier, a future second-round draft pick and cash considerations from the Boston Celtics on Thursday. The Magic subsequently waived Dozier, Michael Carter-Williams and former Phoenix player E’Twaun Moore.
Carter-Williams (ankle) and Moore (knee) did not play for Orlando this season. The Magic have also been without former No. 1 overall pick Markelle Fultz and Jonathan Isaac, who continue to recover from knee injuries.
Saturday marks the second game of a back-to-back for Orlando. The Magic erased an 18-point, second-quarter deficit on Friday, but the Jazz outscored Orlando 37-25 in the fourth quarter to secure the victory.
Orlando committed 18 turnovers, resulting in 24 points for the Jazz.
Wendell Carter Jr. had 22 points and nine rebounds for Orlando, which is 5-5 in its last 10 games. Carter is shooting 60.2 percent (44-for-73) from the field during February.
“I liked Wendell’s physicality,” Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley said after the Utah loss. “I talked about him being able to get to the rim and put pressure on the rim then, you know, stepping out and knocking down a shot.”
