NBA Notes: Magic, Franz Wagner, Heat, Pelle Larsson, Nuggets

Magic forward Franz Wagner is at least trending in the right direction.

Wagner has missed 20 straight games with a left high ankle sprain and has appeared just four times since December 7. But he recently returned to practice, including a brief G League stint with Osceola, where he was able to take contact, per Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel.

Time is becoming a factor with only nine games remaining. That said, coach Jamahl Mosley isn’t putting any restrictions on a potential return.

“If he’s available, he’s playing,” Mosley said.

Elsewhere, Anthony Black and Jonathan Isaac remain out, though both are doing light on-court work.

Heat

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra made a lineup tweak — and it worked.

Miami snapped a five-game losing streak with a road win over the Cavaliers after moving Pelle Larsson to the bench and rolling with a starting group of Davion Mitchell, Tyler Herro, Norman Powell, Andrew Wiggins, and Bam Adebayo.

“There really wasn’t a lot of thought to it,” Spoelstra said. “Now we have finally everybody available.”

Larsson still logged more than 34 minutes.

“Pelle is undeniable,” Spoelstra said. “You can’t take him off the floor.”

Nuggets

Denver Nuggets stars Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic delivered something the league had never seen.

Murray scored a season-high 53 points, while Jokic added 23 points, 21 rebounds, and 19 assists in a win over Dallas.

According to the Associated Press, it’s the first time in NBA history a team has had a 50-point scorer and a 15-15-15 line in the same game.

“Just outrageous numbers,” coach David Adelman said.