Game night preview

ORLANDO MAGIC at MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
Friday, Jan. 1. 8:00 p.m.
Target Center
Minneapolis, MN

The Magic (23-8, 10-5 road) tip off a three-game road trip when they face the Minnesota Timberwolves (7-26, 4-13 home) at 8 p.m. ET on Friday. Orlando has had success in recent history in Minnesota, winning four out of its last five meetings there. But this time, the Magic will have to be on the lookout for Jonny Flynn. The speedy rookie point guard out of Syracuse has been a solid floor general for Minnesota in his inaugural campaign, averaging 14.3 points and 4.2 assists per game. Flynn drew the national spotlight earlier this month, when he finished off a brilliant 28-point night with a game-winning bucket over Deron Williams in Minnesota’s 110-108 victory in Utah. “At some point in time, he’s going to be one of those guys who’s going to be very difficult to contain either in isolation or pick-and-roll situations,” Timberwolves Head Coach Kurt Rambis said. While Flynn continues to get acclimated to the NBA, Magic All-Star Jameer Nelson will also be going through a period of adjustment as he continues to settle back into his role as Orlando’s starting point guard. After a solid 6-for-11 shooting performance against the Rockets, Nelson struggled from the field against the Celtics, making just three of his 11 shots. “He just has to get back into the flow,” Magic All-Star center Dwight Howard said of Nelson, who has missed a considerable amount of time over the past year.“I told him to just play. Don’t worry about mistakes or missing shots. Just go out there and do what you do."

Team Comparison

Team	Record	Standings	PF	PA	Road/Home	Streak	L10
Orlando	23-8	1st Southeast / 3rd East	101.7	95.7	Road 10-5	Won 1	6-4
Minnesota	7-26	5th Northwest / 15th West	95.0	104.9	Home 4-13	Lost 2	4-6

Here is the complete preview from Yahoo! Sports.

The Magic are 8 1/2 point favorites.