Harris wins NBA Cares award

The NBA on Thursday named Orlando Magic forward Tobias Harris the winner of the March NBA Cares Community Assist Award for his efforts to help students in Central Florida.

As a part of his work, Harris has started mentoring programs for students at Nap Ford Community School and Howard Middle School.

Harris will be honored during an oncourt ceremony during tonight’s home game against the Toronto Raptors. Also, Kaiser Per- manente and the NBA will donate $10,000 in Harris’ name to the Orlando Community & Youth Trust.

Fan appreciation

The Magic have some plans for tonight’s game and Saturday night’s home finale against the New York Knicks.

Both games comprise what the team is calling “Fan Appreciation Weekend.”

For both games, free parking will be offered at the Church St. Garage on a first-come, first-served basis.

On Saturday night, Magic center Nik Vucevic will address fans before tipoff, and the first10,000 fans will receive “rally towels.” All fans also will be invited onto the court after the game to shoot free throws.

Winning streak

With a win over the Raptors, the Magic would extend their current winning streak to four games.

The Magic haven’t won four consecutive games since Dec. 14-19, 2012.

In a way, some members of the Magic wish the regular season wasn’t scheduled to end on April 15.

“We would like this to continue — the momentum, the growth we’re seeing right now,” interim coach James Borrego said Thursday. “Unfortunately, we have six days left of this. But it doesn’t end here. We’ll continue it through the summer.”