Celtics-Magic Preview
Evan Fournier has been one of the NBA's most improved players and a big reason Orlando is off to a surprising start, but the Magic might have to move on without him.
With its leading scorer likely to be a game-time decision, Orlando will try to win its third in a row and seventh in eight home games Sunday night against the Boston Celtics.
Although Denver used a first-round pick on the France native in 2012, Fournier played sparingly in his rookie season before averaging just 8.4 points over 19.8 minutes per game in 2013-14.
The 6-foot-7 swingman got a fresh start with Orlando on June 26, 2014, when he was traded along with the draft rights to Roy Devyn Marble in exchange for Arron Afflalo. After averaging 12.0 points in 2014-15, Fournier is enjoying a breakout start with a team-high 17.7 per game this season.
He finished with 17 points and hit 3 of 6 from 3-point range Friday when the Magic shot a season-best 52.4 percent and 12 of 27 (44.4 percent) from beyond the arc in a 114-90 win over Milwaukee. The victory may have been a costly one, however, as Fournier was awfully sore after bruising his hip.
Orlando will likely be cautious with Fournier after he missed 18 games last season with a hip injury. If he can't go, Victor Oladipo could start after totaling 41 points off the bench in his last two.
"Evan didn't do anything (Saturday), so I'm not sure what his status is going to be," said coach Scott Skiles, who has replaced Oladipo in the lineup with Channing Frye.
The Magic have been particularly good defensively at home, allowing an average of 94.0 points on 40.3 percent shooting - including a 29.8 mark from long range - during a 6-1 stretch.
Orlando has dropped nine straight in Boston, but has won the past three home meetings. Oladipo led the way with 22 points, Tobias Harris had 21 and Elfrid Payton added 19 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in a 103-98 win March 8 in the most recent meeting in Florida.
Payton also had 22 points on 10-of-12 shooting to go along with 10 assists and Harris scored 19 with four 3-pointers on Friday. The Magic improved to 8-8 after losing 57 games last season.
Now they'll try to sweep this three-game homestand with a win over a Boston team that was outstanding on the defensive end in back-to-back home victories. After holding winless Philadelphia to 37.3 percent shooting Wednesday while escaping with an 84-80 win, the Celtics (9-7) limited Washington to a season-low 32.1 from the field in Friday's 111-78 victory.
Isaiah Thomas led the way with 21 points and Jared Sullinger had 18 points and 15 rebounds.
''I felt we had a pretty good shootaround and then felt like we played on both ends probably as consistently for 48 minutes as we've played all year," coach Brad Stevens said.
Evan Turner hopes to regroup after he finished with four points on 2-of-7 shooting against the Wizards. The reserve guard scored 30 in a 95-88 home win over Orlando on March 13.
The Celtics, who have lost their last two on the road, are expected to be without Marcus Smart on this five-game trip because of a lower left leg injury.