Orlando @ Toronto preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 28, 2018 ) Toronto 87, Orlando 116

The Orlando Magic failed to carry their momentum through the All-Star break and are about to see the schedule get much tougher. The Magic will begin a stretch with seven of nine on the road when they visit the powerhouse Toronto Raptors on Sunday.

Orlando won five straight heading into the break by an average of 22.8 points but could not hold off the rebuilding Chicago Bulls after eight days off and dropped a 110-109 decision at home on Friday. "A tough loss, man, especially being the first game after the break when we had momentum with five wins in a row," Magic shooting guard Evan Fournier told reporters after his team dropped 1 1/2 games behind the eighth-place Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference. "So, this one is a tough one to swallow, I'm not going to lie." The Raptors are sitting in second place in the East and survived an emotional game against the San Antonio Spurs on Friday as franchise scoring leader DeMar DeRozan made his first appearance in Toronto as a visiting player. DeRozan was showered with cheers and scored 23 points but also committed a key turnover as the Raptors earned a 120-117 victory.

TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, FS Florida (Orlando), SN1 (Toronto)

ABOUT THE MAGIC (27-33): The five-game winning streak made Orlando believe it could make a run and reach the postseason for the first time since 2012, and Friday's loss served as a wake-up call. "We're going to have to really fight now and that's a game that we needed," Magic forward Aaron Gordon told reporters. "We're going to have to steal a couple later on. It's not going to get any easier, but we're going to step up to the challenge." All-Star center Nikola Vucevic collected 19 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists, two blocks and two steals in Friday's setback to record his sixth straight double-double.

ABOUT THE RAPTORS (44-16): Kawhi Leonard, who arrived in the trade that sent DeRozan to the Spurs, struggled against his former team but made the key steal against DeRozan and ended up with 25 points on 8-of-23 shooting. The All-Star forward led all five starters in double figures and spent some time on the floor with newcomer Marc Gasol, who is still finding his place in the team's offense. The former All-Star center, who came over in a trade from Memphis at the deadline, was held to four points on 2-of-7 shooting in 17 minutes off the bench but collected seven rebounds and six assists.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Magic PG D.J. Augustin is shooting 52.5 percent from the field in eight games this month.

2. Toronto SG Danny Green is 14-of-25 from 3-point range over the last four games.

3. The teams split the first two meetings - both in Orlando.

PREDICTION: Raptors 116, Magic 107