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Story:
Fresh off their 97-91 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night, the Magic have grown accustomed to playing in the elevated Mexico City Arena. Nikola Vucevic was again the hero, and the Magic will need another impressive performance to overcome Defensive Player of the Year, Rudy Gobert, and runner-up for Rookie of the Year, Donovan Mitchell.
The Jazz have their first opportunity at .500 since their victory over Memphis on November 12th. Games like this one carry significant weight for the Jazz whom are currently ranked 12th in the Western Conference after advancing to the second round of the playoffs just last year.
One thing to keep an eye on: Rudy Gobert’s beef with officiating. Should a few calls go the Magic’s way early, it could elicit a reaction from the Frenchman similar to this one:
Rudy Gobert got ejected less than 3 minutes into the game... pic.twitter.com/ZXqaXklXHW
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 7, 2018
Who: Utah Jazz at (14-15) at Orlando Magic (13-15)
When: 5:00 p.m. Eastern
Where: Mexico City Arena - Mexico City
TV: Fox Sports Florida, NBATV
Line: Magic +5, Over/Under 208.5
Injury Report: Magic - None, Jazz - Raul Neto (game-time decision)
| Utah | Orlando |
|---|---|
| Pace: 99.3 (19th) | Pace: 97.7 (26th) |
| ORtg: 108.2 (21st) | ORtg: 106.3 (27th) |
| DRtg: 107.8 (9th) | DRtg: 109.4 (14th) |
| Projected Starters: | |
| Utah | Orlando |
| PG - Ricky Rubio | PG - D.J. Augustin |
| SG - Donovan Mitchell | SG - Evan Fournier |
| SF - Joe Ingles | F - Jonathan Isaac |
| F - Derrick Favors | PF - Aaron Gordon |
| C - Rudy Gobert | C - Nikola Vucevic |
For perspective from the other side, please visit the great work our friends at SLC Dunk are doing.
Check out our site’s preview of this afternoon’s Magic/Jazz game here.
Leave your pregame and in-game comments below!
Feel free to follow us on Twitter at @OPPMagicBlog, and enjoy the game!
Magic vs. @utahjazz
— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) December 15, 2018
Mexico City | @NBAMEX
5:00 p.m. ET
@FOXSportsFL pic.twitter.com/fA9htsEemQ