Nets 100 - 98 Magic
Final
  for this game

Nets aim for .500 mark against Magic

Jan 2, 2015 - 2:55 PM

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(SportsNetwork.com) - The Brooklyn Nets will try to continue their fine form of late on Friday night when they visit the Amway Center to take on the Orlando Magic.

The Nets have won two straight and five of their last six. They are a game within a .500 record and a shuffling of the lineup has been at the center of this resurgence.

Brook Lopez came off the bench after a back injury and Deron Williams has ran with the second unit for four straight. That's a pair of well-compensated, former All-Stars coming off the bench.

"I think our commitment to helping each other, being aggressive, has been increased as a group," Nets coach Lionel Hollins told the team's website. "Our focus and our attention to detail as far as game plan has been much better."

Lopez returned to the starting lineup on Tuesday with Kevin Garnett sitting. Lopez finished with 29 points in Brooklyn's best win to date, a 96-82 victory over the Bulls in Chicago.

Joe Johnson posted 20 points and 11 rebounds for Brooklyn, which ended Chicago's seven-game winning streak and was just 2-12 in its previous 14 trips to the United Center.

Jarrett Jack and Alan Anderson finished with 11 apiece.

The Nets, who play Miami on Sunday to end this road trip, haven't been .500 since Nov. 13.

The Magic started a three-game homestand with a loss on Tuesday to the Detroit Pistons, 109-86. That setback halted a two-game winning streak and the Magic allowed the Pistons to make 14 from beyond the arc.

"We need production from our guys every single night to get the win," Magic coach Jacque Vaughn. "They made shots."

Victor Oladipo led the Magic with 16 points and Tobias Harris deposited 15, while Nikola Vucevic had 10 points and five rebounds. No other Orlando player scored in double figures.

Orlando was out-played in almost every way imaginable.

The Pistons had a 20-7 edge on the fastbreak and outrebounded the Magic 54-42. Detroit had better field-goal and 3-point percentages and committed five fewer turnovers.

The Magic will close this stay on Saturday against the Charlotte Hornets, then head west for four games.

The Nets beat Orlando by eight in Brooklyn on Nov. 9 and have won two straight and seven of the last nine in this series. The Magic have taken two in a row as the host versus Brooklyn.






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