Fultz is ready to go for trip to Brooklyn
Orlando Magic point guard Markelle Fultz said his left calf is just fine and that could spell trouble for the Brooklyn Nets.
Fultz put up a career-high 25 points on a season-high 20 shot attempts as the Magic downed the Nets 101-89 when the teams played Jan. 6 in Orlando.
Fultz recorded 17 drives into the paint that game. Since, he’s averaged 13.4 drives per game — 20th in the NBA — as he continues to attack opposing defenses with dribble penetration.
Fultz, who has averaged 16 points and seven assists over his past five games, wants to take the same approach on Monday night when the teams meet for the second time this season. His goal is to get in the paint and create for others or take shots when needed.
“Just being aggressive,” he said about what stood out from the first meeting with the Nets. “I think that was my mindset going in there and it’s been picking up ever since that game. My mindset’s always been aggressive. That’s my goal going back in.
“They’re going to remember that game just like I do. I know they’re going to have a game plan not only for me but for this team, so my only mindset going back in playing against these guys is to try my hardest to get the win, doing whatever I need to do.”
Monday’s game tips off at 7:30 p.m. and will be televised on Fox Sports Florida.
The contest will be the first of the three regular-season meetings left between the teams as the two jockey for the seventh and eight positions in the Eastern Conference standings.
Brooklyn (26-29) enters Monday’s matchup at Barclays Center with a 2.5-game lead over Orlando (24-32).
Last season the teams wound up tied at 42-40, but Brooklyn earned the sixth seed by virtue of winning the season series 2-1.
A healthy Fultz should go a long way toward helping the Magic make up ground on Monday night.
He left in the third quarter of Friday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks with a cramp in his left calf and did not return. Fultz had posted 14 points and nine assists to that point, and the Magic wound