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The Orlando Magic sustained a double-overtime loss in Phoenix on the front end of a back-to-back and then hopped a plane for the flight to Los Angeles.
Though the Clippers, their next opponent, are well-rested, it might not be a bad time for Orlando to face a team on shaky ground.
The Magic play the third contest of a four-game excursion on Sunday night when they visit the Clippers at Inglewood, Calif.
The Clippers started poorly this season, going 6-21 before streaking with 16 wins in 19 games and then splitting their past 10.
But they traded James Harden to the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier this month, leaving Kawhi Leonard without a high-scoring running mate.
Leonard also doesn’t sound too keen about the team’s championship chances as he expressed his doubts after Thursday’s 115-114 home win over the Denver Nuggets.
“I think it’s over now,” Leonard told reporters. “It’s the second half, like (final) fourth of the season left, but every day is a day to grow, a day to learn and get better. So, you just got to keep looking over time and see in two weeks if we’re getting better, and see what happens from there.”
Clippers coach Tyronn Lue attempted damage control the following day, saying he interpreted Leonard’s comments as meaning there has been change in the organization.
Lue said he has no doubts — even at two games under .500 — that the Clippers can put together a postseason run.
“I just feel confident. I just feel confident in our players,” Lue said. “I feel confident in our coaching staff and I just feel confident in the environment, like the culture we’ve set. And why wouldn’t you want to play to win?
“That’s our mindset. That’s my mindset every single night. And as tough as it may be or you start 6-21 or whatever it may be, you’re playing to win. And so, we make the playoffs and then anything can happen.”
Leonard sprained his left ankle during Friday’s 125-122 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers and is listed as questionable for Sunday. He has scored 20 or more points in each of his last 35 appearances.
Orlando opened its road trip by making a franchise-record 27 3-pointers in a 131-94 rout of the lowly Sacramento Kings on Thursday.
The opportunity to be 2-0 on the trip was there with Phoenix shooting just 34.2% from the field over 58 minutes on Saturday. But Jalen Green (who was 6 of 26) drained a game-winning trey as the second OT ended to give the Suns a 113-110 win.
“Our guys fought to the end minus bodies,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “But we’ve got to make sure we continue to do the little things.”
Guard Jalen Suggs (back) missed the contest and is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game. Standout Franz Wagner (left ankle) isn’t on the trip and is out indefinitely.
Desmond Bane scored 34 points and Paolo Banchero had 26 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists and four blocked shots for Orlando.
Mosley was beaming about Banchero’s all-around play.
“He’s a young man that continues to get downhill, created double teams, got a lot of guys wide-open looks,” Mosley said about Banchero. “We’ve got to step in and knock those down.
“He attacked the basket a ton. Wasn’t getting the call necessarily going his way, but I loved the way that he was attacking downhill, being aggressive in those situations.”
Orlando defeated the visiting Clippers 129-101 on Nov. 20 in the first meeting. Leonard was sidelined with foot and ankle injuries.
–Field Level Media
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