UPDATE: Rashard Lewis will miss tonight's game, as well as Monday's game against Milwaukee, due to tendinitis in his right knee, according to the Associated Press. Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy will also reduce the minutes of Hedo Turkoglu and Dwight Howard as the season winds to a close. Tony Battie will start in Lewis' place, reports the New Jersey Nets' official Twitter.
Meanwhile, Devin Harris will miss tonight's game for the Nets.
| 2008/2009 NBA Regular Season | ||
|---|---|---|
 | @ |  |
| 58-21 | 32-47 | |
| April 11th, 2009 | ||
| IZOD Center | ||
| 7:30 PM | ||
| FSN Florida HD | ||
| Probable starters: | ||
| Rafer Alston | PG | Chris Douglas-Roberts |
| Courtney Lee | SG | Keyon Dooling |
| Hedo Turkoglu | SF | Vince Carter |
| Tony Battie | PF | Ryan Anderson |
| Dwight Howard | C | Brook Lopez |
| Previous Meetings: | ||
| February 8th: Magic 101, Nets 84 | ||
| March 6th: Magic 105, Nets 102 | ||
It's been a while since the New Jersey Nets had anything to play for, but that didn't stop them from giving the Detroit Pistons a decent fight last night. They trailed by as much as 20 points, but whittled the Pistons' lead down to 5 points with less than a minute remaining before Richard Hamilton beat the shot-clock buzzer with a three-pointer that sealed the deal. In other words, the Orlando Magic can't afford to overlook the Nets when they visit their arena for the first and only time this season tonight.
Although, in theory, they could. They're virtually locked into the Eastern Conference's third seed, as their only hope of moving into second is to win their next three games while the Boston Celtics lose their next three games. Highly, highly, unlikely.
But there are other factors at work. The Magic have played some of their worst ball of the season in their last four games, and could use a big victory (or three) to get them back on track for the playoffs, which start a week from today.
Tune in at 7:30 to see if Stan Van Gundy's crew can take out some frustration on a lottery-bound team that struggles to win at home. Go Magic.