The Orlando Magic (20-61) will be without multiple starters for their Sunday season finale vs. the Miami Heat at Amway Center.
Cole Anthony (sprained left toe), Wendell Carter Jr. (sprained left wrist), Jalen Suggs (bone bruise in right ankle) and Franz Wagner (sprained right ankle) will be sidelined.
Anthony will end the season missing the final three games while Wagner will have missed the final two. It’ll be Carter’s eighth absence of the final nine games.
Suggs missed 12 of 15 games because of an injury to the right foot — the bone bruise or a sprain he had been dealing with for most of March. He played in the home win over the Cleveland Cavaliers Tuesday and road loss to the Charlotte Hornets Thursday before being ruled out for Sunday.
Starting big man Mo Bamba, who practiced Saturday, was listed as questionable on the injury report because of a sprained right ankle he suffered in Thursday’s loss.
“It’s about giving these other guys opportunities who had not played,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said after Saturday’s practice, “and look at different combinations and lineups. It’ll be good for these young guys to go against a high-caliber Miami Heat team.”
Depending on Bamba’s availability, the Magic’s remaining available players will be Markelle Fultz, R.J. Hampton, Chuma Okeke, Moe Wagner, Admiral Schofield, Ignas Brazdeikis, Robin Lopez, Devin Cannady, Terrence Ross and Gary Harris.
Ross has been a healthy scratch in eight of the last 13 games while Harris hasn’t played in the previous eight. Harris was sidelined vs. the Cavaliers because of personal reasons and he was healthy scratches for the other absences.
The Heat (53-28), who’ll be the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed in the playoffs, will be without starting forwards Jimmy Butler (not with the team) and P.J. Tucker (strained right calf).
Schofield, Lopez fined
Schofield and Lopez were fined for their roles in Thursday’s on-court altercation with the Hornets, the NBA announced Saturday afternoon.
Schofield was docked $20,000 while Lopez was fined $15,000 for escalating an incident between the two teams in the fourth quarter.
Hornets big man Montrezl Harrell also was fined $15,000.
The altercation started shortly after Jalen McDaniels fouled Hampton on a layup attempt with 7:45 remaining.
According to the league: “Lopez escalated the incident when he aggressively approached and made contact with the Hornets’ PJ Washington, who was acting as a peacemaker between Hampton and McDaniels.
“Harrell, who then made contact with Lopez, was shoved forcefully in the back by Schofield. Both Schofield and Harrell were deemed to have further escalated the incident.”
Lopez, Schofield and Harrell were ejected after the incident.
This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Khobi Price at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter at @khobi_
()