Jett Howard debuted in the G League this week, and the Orlando Magic rookie had a productive outing to help the Osceola Magic to a win over the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
Howard produced 34 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals on Wednesday in a 143-127 victory on the road. He went 11-of-22 from the field, including 7-of-16 from 3-point range, in 34 minutes of action as a starter.
The 11th pick recorded 21 points in the first half with four 3-pointers. He did the majority of his work from the 3-point line, but also had a few layups after driving into the paint.
“I really was happy that he got himself going into a rhythm and looking for shots early, which is what we’ve asked him to do,” Mosley said on Friday prior to hosting the Boston Celtics. “His ability to sit down and guard and then just finding a rhythm as the game went on. I think that was a big portion of what we’re asking of him, because not having played many minutes early on you get yourself going a little bit. He did a really good job of settling in as the game went on.”
The Magic assigned Howard to their G League affiliate on Monday after he played sparingly to start the season. He has been out of the rotation so far and has logged just 23 minutes of action across five appearances with Orlando.
Howard will be with Osceola on its current four-game road trip, which started on Wednesday against the Vipers. He projects to have the chance to log consistent minutes as Osceola will play the Vipers again, along with the Austin Spurs and OKC Blue.
Howard averaged 9.3 points and 1.5 rebounds on 39.1% shooting from 3-point range in four games with the Magic in the preseason. He produced his best game on Oct. 20 with 21 points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal.
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