The Toronto Raptors put their four-game road winning streak on the line Friday night when they visit the Orlando Magic.
The Raptors have made themselves at home on the road, boasting an Eastern Conference-best 16 wins away from Toronto heading into play on Thursday.
The Raptors, however, returned home and appeared to run out of gas in their 119-92 decision to the New York Knicks on Wednesday. A four-point lead at halftime went by the boards as the Knicks erupted for 72 points in the second half.
“We let it slip away pretty much,” Brandon Ingram said, per the Toronto Star. “We thought we were in control throughout that first half and some of that third quarter, but we’ll be more prepared. We’ll look at the film next time we do play those guys.”
Ingram scored 27 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the floor, and Scottie Barnes added 17 points to go along with 10 rebounds and five assists.
The pair fared well in the Raptors’ previous encounter with the Magic. Ingram scored 17 points and Barnes added 13 with 11 boards as Toronto overcame a 21-point deficit in a 107-106 home victory on Dec. 29.
The Raptors, one victory away from matching last season’s win total, find themselves in a four-team battle for second place in the Eastern Conference — just don’t tell that to head coach Darko Rajakovic.
“All I want to do is focus on the game … and do everything in our power to play a great game, to compete and, hopefully, win,” he said.
Toronto rookie Collin Murray-Boyles collected five rebounds to go along with four points and four assists against New York in his return from a four-game absence due to a left thumb contusion.
As for Orlando, it snapped a four-game losing skid on Wednesday with a 133-124 victory over the host Miami Heat.
“The best part about it is, the things that we’ve been working on and things we’ve been talking about, we executed for the most part,” Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley said. “That’s what you’re most proud of, not necessarily the pressure of getting a win.
“It’s the things that you’ve been doing (that) are now being rewarded because of the way we chose to play.”
Paolo Banchero scored 31 points, marking the second straight game in which he has reached 30 points and fifth this season. He also had 12 rebounds on Wednesday.
Anthony Black added 26 points for a Magic team that played without Franz Wagner (left high ankle sprain) for a fourth consecutive game.
“Having lost four in a row, that’s never a place you want to be,” Black said, per the Orlando Sentinel. “But we did a good job of responding. We knew this was a must-win game and I think we just did a good job coming out ready to play.”
Black and Banchero also excelled in the previous encounter with the Raptors, as the former scored 27 points and the latter collected 23 points, 15 boards and 10 assists.
