First half of Orlando Magic 2020-2021 schedule announced

The Magic open the season against one of their now two Florida rivals.

For the fourth time in five seasons, Orlando will face the Miami Heat in the season opener, with the two scheduled to square off on Dec. 23 at Amway Center. The Magic will take on the NBA’s newest Florida resident, the Tampa Bay Raptors, during a home and home on Jan. 31 and Feb. 2.

Here is the full Magic schedule for the first half of the 2020-2021 season...

Some first-half highlights:

The Magic, after their season opener, get an early season look at newest Wizard Russell Westbrook when they play a back-to-back in Washington.

D.J. Augustin makes his return to Orlando with Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks on Jan. 11. The Magic’s first look at Kevin Durant in a Nets jersey is slated to take place on Jan. 16 in Brooklyn. The Warriors come to town on Feb. 19 for their second matchup of the month with the Magic (Feb. 11 at Golden State).

The Magic have three four-game homestands during the first-half, as well as a six-game road trip spanning 10 days in January, and a four-game West Coast trip in February.

The Magic announced that during the 72-game season, Amway Center is slated to have limited capacity, with season ticket holders getting priority. Tickets will also be made available to the public on a game-by-game basis.

“As we have said, the health and safety of everyone connected to our game will be top priority,” Magic CEO Alex Martins said in a press release. “Our goal is to make everyone feel comfortable that extensive safety precautions have been taken for the return to Amway Center. We continue to work through protocols as outlined by the NBA, CDC and local health officials and will use the preseason as a trial to assess and evaluate safety measures.”

Evan Fournier said earlier this week that he and the Magic are happy to be playing at Amway Center, and in front of some fans, once again after their experience in the NBA bubble.

“Even if it’s empty, just the fact that we’re going to be back at Amway is great,” Fournier said. This is our arena. We’re just used to playing in that arena...Just being able to play in front of some fans, to have some kind of energy, to feed off a little bit, obviously that’s something we’re looking forward to.”