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Wizards visit Magic Kingdom

Oct 30, 2014 - 2:13 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The start of a quick Florida tour for the Washington Wizards didn't go as planned and they'll try again for their first win of the season Thursday against the Orlando Magic at Amway Center.

The Wizards opened the season with Wednesday's 107-95 loss to the Miami Heat in their first game without superstar LeBron James. The Heat didn't miss a beat, at least for one night, and were led by Chris Bosh's 26 points and 15 rebounds. Norris Cole and Dwyane Wade scored 23 and 21 points, respectively.

Drew Gooden and Marcin Gortat scored 18 points apiece, while Paul Pierce added 17 points in his Washington debut. The Wizards struggled on the boards (44-36) and haven't won a season opener since Oct. 27, 2009 against Dallas.

"I think we lost that game on rebounds, on the boards," Gortat said. "We should fight a bit harder and stay a bit more focused on everything we do. ... We've just got to regroup and get the game tomorrow."

John Wall ended with 16 points and 11 assists for the Wizards, who were outscored by a 35-25 measure in the fourth quarter and were without guard Bradley Beal (wrist) and forwards Nene and DeJuan Blair. Both big men were serving a one-game suspension for a preseason incident and should be back Thursday.

Kris Humphries is a new face in DC and shook off a balky hand to post four points in just over 13 minutes. Otto Porter led the team in scoring during the preseason with 13.0 points per game, his exact point total against Miami.

Wall averaged career-highs in points (19.4 ppg), assists (8.8 apg), field goal percentage (.433) and 3-point percentage (.351) last season. He led the NBA in total assists with 721.

Washington was a playoff team last season and is a favorite to win the Southeast Division now that James is in Cleveland. The Wizards could be down 0-2 on the season and in division play after Thursday's game in Orlando.

The Wizards will open their home schedule Saturday versus Milwaukee.

Orlando lost its season opener Tuesday, 101-84, to Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans. Davis was outstanding and finished with 26 points, 17 rebounds and nine blocks.

The Magic were led by Tobias Harris, who scored 25 points on 9-of-18 shooting. Nikola Vucevic was a beast on the boards with 23 to go along with 15 points for Orlando, which shot 38.1 percent and committed 18 turnovers for 27 New Orleans points.

The toughest part for Orlando was allowing 26 offensive boards.

Magic rookie guard Elfrid Payton started the game at the point with second- year PG Victor Oladipo nursing a facial fracture. Payton had four points and seven assists.

"It was great to get out there and play in front of family and friends," said Payton, a Louisiana native. "It gives you a lot of confidence."

Aaron Gordon, Orlando's other first-round draft pick, had 11 points off the bench

Not much is expected from the Magic this season and they're aiming for a sixth straight win in their home opener. Orlando will host Toronto Saturday.

The Magic lost all four meetings with Washington last season, but are 10-3 in the previous 13 encounters in central Florida. Orlando leads the all-time series, 63-37.