Maurice Harkless makes NBA début for Magic

Orlando Magic rookie Maurice Harkless made his first appearance for the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The St. John's product, acquired from the Philadelphia 76ers in the Dwight Howard trade, had missed the entire preseason and training camp in order to recover from offseason sports-hernia surgery.

Harkless checked in for Orlando to begin the second quarter in Wednesday's contest, with Orlando trailing by a 25-12 margin. The combo forward averaged 15.5 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and three combined steals and blocks in his lone collegiate season, during which he earned Big East Rookie of the Year honors.

The former Red Storm member made an immediate impact in his first stint, recording four rebounds, a steal, a blocked shot, and several deflections.

Harkless is one of Orlando's two rookie small forwards; DeQuan Jones, undrafted from Miami (FL), is the other.

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