On Friday, the Washington Wizards will face the Orlando Magic, who are visiting, to continue their last-ditch playoff push.
The Washington Wizards (34-42) are within two games of the Chicago Bulls (36-40) for the 10th and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference after winning two of their last three games. With a 113-108 defeat at Memphis on Tuesday, the Magic (32-44) ended a three-game winning streak and are now four games out of last place.
Washington, which has six games left, is falling off a 130-111 win over the meeting Boston Celtics on Tuesday behind Kristaps Porzingis’ 32 focuses, 13 bounce back and six helps. Deni Avdija had a career-high 25 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists to go with his double-double. Monte Morris had 19 points and nine assists.
The Wizards were without Bradley Beal (sore left knee) and Kyle Kuzma (sprained right ankle), so Corey Kispert and Kendrick Nunn scored 15 and 12 points, respectively.
Beal, who plays every game with an average of 23.2 points and 5.4 assists, and Kuzma, who plays every game with 21.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.7 assists, are game-time decisions against Orlando. Unseld stated that he hasn’t decided whether to shut down the duo for the remainder of the season.
It will be difficult for the Magic, who also have six games left, to make the playoffs.
Orlando ended its longest winning streak, which lasted three games, which began on December 7 and ended on December 6. 18 — after its unsuccessful rally against the Grizzlies. With 38 seconds left in the third quarter, the Magic closed a 23-point gap to 105-100 before the Grizzlies won at the free-throw line.
The Magic, who were outscored 32-15 in the initial quarter, were driven by Paolo Banchero’s 24 focuses, 11 bounce back and five helps, while Franz Wagner added 25 focuses.
This will be the Magic’s and Wizards’ final meeting of the season.
On December 30, Porzingis scored 30 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the Wizards, who then defeated the Orlando Magic, 138-118, on January 21.
On March 21, the Magic defeated the Wizards 122-112 in their most recent meeting, their first victory in eight games. While Porzingis scored 30 points, Banchero had 18 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists for the Wizards.
