Magic, Pelicans Try To Stop Bleeding In First Regular-Season NBA Encounter

The New Orleans Pelicans visit the Orland Magic on Friday, January 20, with both teams looking to stop their respective losing streaks at the Amway Center Center.

Both teams are coming off back-to-back losses, and one skid will end when they collide.

For the hosting Magic, they dropped games against the Utah Jazz and the Denver Nuggets.

Heartbreaking was their matchup with the Nuggets, a game that slipped past their hands no thanks to a late three-pointer by Nikola Jokic with 1.2 seconds left in the contest.

"To be on the back end of a five-game road trip and to give that intensity and that effort, coming down the stretch, where an MVP-type player makes the MVP-type play, that's what it came down to," Magic coach Jamahl Mosley stated.

The Magic's losing effort was led by Markelle Fultz who finished with 20 markers, seven rebounds, and six assists.

Franz Wagner backed him up with 19 points, while Paolo Banchero had 18 markers.

Orlando is averaging 110.5 points this season, 27th in the league. They are also surrendering 114.3 points per contest, 17th in the NBA today.

Moving over to the Pelicans' side, they are also coming off two consecutive losses to the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Miami Heat.

Against the Heat, New Orleans got blown out, 98-124, with Bam Adebayo calling the shots for Miami with 26 points.

"We didn't show up with a level of urgency that it takes to play against good teams," Pelicans coach Willie Green stated. "Tonight we didn't have it. Normally, we do, but tonight, we didn't."

C.J. McCollum tried to hold up the fort for the Pels with 21 points and four assists.

Jonas Valinciunas lent him a helping hand with a double-double effort of 18 points and 10 boards.

The Pels are averaging 116.6 points per game this season, good for the ninth spot in the league at the moment.

Defensively, the Pelicans are allowing the opposition 113.4 points, 16th in the NBA.

Oddsmakers pick the Pelicans as -2.5 favorites to prevail over the hosting Magic, who are at +2.5.

Meanwhile, the moneyline is -130 for New Orleans and +110 for Orlando.

The game will be shown on both the NBA League Pass and fuboTV at 7:00 PM ET.