Orlando @ Brooklyn preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 18, 2019 ) Brooklyn 117, Orlando 115

The Brooklyn Nets are no longer a scrappy young team putting some wins together and are instead becoming a legitimate threat to reach the Eastern Conference playoffs and perhaps earn homecourt advantage. The Nets will try to push their latest winning streak to five in a row when they host the Orlando Magic on Wednesday.

Brooklyn looked destined for another trip to the lottery during an 8-18 start but turned things around with wins in 17 of the last 22 games and moved two games over .500 by crushing the Sacramento Kings 123-94 at home on Monday. "We have a certain calm about us now, a certain confidence," Nets coach Kenny Atkinson told reporters. "Even the halftime locker room was pretty much businesslike. We've got a confident locker room in there right now." The Magic are finding it more difficult to win consistently and are aware that the window may be closing for the team. "We're not stupid; we know that if we don't make the playoffs this year, this is probably it for us," guard Evan Fournier told reporters. "Just like (center Nikola Vucevic) and myself, we like it (in Orlando) and we like to play with each other. We've struggled for so long here and we want to see the results. We spent so much time and hours with the Magic, and you want to see it work."

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FS Florida (Orlando), YES (Brooklyn)

ABOUT THE MAGIC (20-27): Vucevic reportedly told his teammates after a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks at home on Saturday that the fate of the team's season would be decided over the following three games. Vucevic did his part with 29 points and 14 rebounds on Monday as Orlando began that three-game stretch with a 122-103 triumph at the Atlanta Hawks. "We understand that if we don't wake up now it's going to be really, really hard for us going forward if we don't get some wins in these next few games," Vucevic told reporters. "Coach (Steve Clifford) talks about (the playoffs), we know it and see it, and it's on us to respond and play the right way. Things turn around quickly, just like two weeks ago things were going great for us. Now, we're struggling. But if we can get a couple of wins and play consistently for 48 minutes, we can be right there (in the playoff race)."

ABOUT THE NETS (25-23): Brooklyn's recent run is being led by point guard D'Angelo Russell, who was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week on Monday before putting up 31 points and eight assists in the win over Sacramento. "Everything we do offensively, he is the lifeblood of us," small forward Joe Harris told Newsday. "Everything flows through him. He does a really good job of dictating the pace, getting guys in rhythm and just doing a really good job on every level. ... D'Angelo is just a real cerebral player. He's got a really good feel for the game, and he always seems to be a step ahead of everybody else." Russell went 7-of-14 from 3-point range on Monday - the third time in the last four games that he knocked down at least seven from beyond the arc.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Nets SF Rodions Kurucs is 22-of-35 form the floor over the last four games.

2. Magic PG D.J. Augustin is 9-of-14 from 3-point range over the last three games.

3. Brooklyn earned a 117-115 win at Orlando on Friday as Russell sprang for 40 points on 16-of-25 shooting.

PREDICTION: Nets 123, Magic 115