Jalen Suggs, Franz Wagner will be game-time decisions for Magic vs. Nets
Second-year guard Jalen Suggs and forward Franz Wagner will be game-time decisions for the Orlando Magic’s 6 p.m. Sunday home game vs. the Brooklyn Nets, coach Jamahl Mosley said after Saturday’s practice.
Suggs has missed the previous four games because of a concussion from the March 16 loss at Phoenix.
He practiced Saturday, with Mosley saying the team is “going to see how he pulls up” before determining whether he’ll play against the Nets.
Wagner accidentally stepped on Goga Bitadze’s foot and turned his left ankle early in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s home win over the New York Knicks.
He was later ruled out because of a sprained left ankle. Wagner didn’t practice but went through drills with skill development/shooting coach Aubrey McCreary.
Suggs and Wagner both were listed as questionable on the team’s injury report.
Jay Scrubb, whom the Magic signed to a two-way contract Friday after he spent the season playing for the organization’s Lakeland G League affiliate, didn’t practice Saturday and won’t be available against the Nets. He was with Lakeland in Des Moines, Iowa, for Saturday’s regular-season finale vs. the Iowa Wolves.
Mosley mentioned Scrubb’s scoring ability as an area in which he could help Orlando.
Scrubb is Lakeland’s leading scorer, averaging 22.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 27 games in the G League entering Saturday.
“He knows how to get in the lane and get into his gaps,” Mosley said. “He shoots the ball very well. He’s done a great job for Lakeland down there.”
The Nets, who entered Saturday on a five-game losing streak, are a significantly different team compared to when the teams last played each other on Nov. 28 in New York — a 109-102 Brooklyn win.
Kevin Durant, who scored 45 points in that game, and Kyrie Irving are no longer with the Nets after being traded to the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks, respectively, ahead of last month’s trade deadline.
Mikal Bridges, whom Brooklyn acquired ahead of the deadline along with Spencer Dinwiddie, Cam Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith, has led the Nets in scoring at 25.9 points since the All-Star break.
The Nets played the Heat in Miami on Saturday night before traveling to Orlando for the second night of the back-to-back.
“There’s a level of aggression to each one of those guys,” Mosley said. “They score at a very good clip. They play drive-kick basketball. They play small. Our ability [will be important] to make sure we can guard our own man one-on-one but know we have to help on the backside, be there to protect the rim and get out to shooters because they’re definitely letting a lot of 3s go.”
The Magic (31-43) are on their first winning streak since Feb. 3-5 after beating the Knicks. They haven’t won at least three consecutive games since mid-December.
Their wins against the Knicks and the Washington Wizards on Tuesday featured “clutch” minutes — when the scoring margin is 5 points or less with five or fewer minutes remaining.
The Magic have grown significantly with their late-game execution.
They’re 15-11 in their last 26 games that featured clutch situations after starting the season 3-12 in clutch games.
“We’ve been in several situations like that throughout the year,” guard Cole Anthony said. “A lot of competitive games. We’ve lost a bunch; we’ve won a bunch. It’s a matter of just being there. We’ve really been able to correct our mistakes as we’ve been in those situations more.”
This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Khobi Price at khprice@orlandosentinel.com or follow him on Twitter at @khobi_price.
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