NBA teams
Andrew Lopez, ESPN 1y

Magic's Jonathan Isaac plays for 1st time since 2020

NBA, Orlando Magic

Orlando Magic forward Jonathan Isaac returned Monday night from a severe left knee injury that had sidelined him since Aug. 2, 2020.

The team said about four hours before tipoff that Isaac would be available to return against the visiting Boston Celtics. He entered the game at the 7-minute mark of the opening quarter amid cheers from the home fans, and ended up scoring 10 points in as many minutes as Orlando won, 113-98.

Isaac missed the entire 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons and played in only two games in the bubble after first injuring his knee on Jan. 1, 2020.

After he started practicing with the team last month, Isaac has played three games with the team's G League affiliate, the Lakeland Magic, in recent weeks.

In three games with Lakeland, Isaac averaged 15.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.0 blocks in just over 17 minutes per game. In his last game with Lakeland on Wednesday, Isaac played 22 minutes and finished with 18 points, 6 boards, 5 assists and 3 blocks.

He was back with the Magic on Friday and has missed the past two games, listed under "return to competition reconditioning."

Isaac, who is 25, averaged 11.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.3 blocks and 1.6 steals per game in 34 games during the 2019-20 season.

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