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Magic-Jazz Preview

Dec 10, 2009 - 7:27 AM By BRETT HUSTON STATS Writer

Orlando (17-4) at Utah (12-9), 10:30 p.m. EDT

No team has more wins at home than the Utah Jazz since the start of the 2006-07 season, and after a mediocre start in Salt Lake City, they've won the past five games on their home floor.

The Orlando Magic hardly seem intimidated by any road venue these days.

The Magic look for a seventh consecutive win overall and a ninth consecutive road victory Thursday night in Utah, where the Jazz return home looking to put an ugly second-half collapse behind them.

Orlando (17-4) went 27-14 on the road last season, finishing in a three-way tie for the league's second-best record away from home. The Magic kept playing well on the road in the playoffs, knocking off Boston and Cleveland despite not having home-court advantage in either the Eastern Conference semifinals or finals.

They seem to have taken that blueprint for road success to another level this season. Orlando split its first four road games but has won eight in a row after Dwight Howard's 25 points, 11 rebounds and seven blocks led the way to a 97-86 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday.

A win over the Jazz (12-9) would give the Magic their best 22-game start in franchise history. Orlando started 17-4 in both 1994-95 and '95-96 before dropping its next game.

"I'm not satisfied, but I think we're getting better," said Howard, who's averaged 22.0 points, 13.6 rebounds and 3.2 blocks during the Magic's six-game winning streak. "That's what we want, to stay humble and not get complacent with who we are."

Orlando has never won nine straight road games in a single season, but did win the past two away from home in '06-07 followed by its first seven the following season.

Aside from Howard's interior dominance, Vince Carter has been the Magic's go-to perimeter scorer on the road. Carter was held to 13 points against the Clippers, but averaged 24.3 points in the team's six previous road games.

"We've found a way to win, whether they're blowouts or close games," Carter said. "In second halves, we've done a good job buckling down and sticking to the game plan."

Carter hasn't visited EnergySolutions Arena with Orlando, but he's had success in Salt Lake City - where Utah has won 110 games since the start of the 2006-07 season - in the past. The eight-time All-Star has scored at least 30 points in four of his eight career games in Utah.

The Magic, meanwhile, swept the Jazz last season, including a 103-94 road victory Dec. 13 as Howard sat out with a sore left knee. Rashard Lewis had 27 in that win, while Howard had 28 points and 20 rebounds in a 105-87 win in Orlando on March 15.

The Jazz didn't have Carlos Boozer during their home loss to Orlando, but Boozer - who missed 45 games last season due to various injuries - has returned to his All-Star form lately, averaging 26.7 points in seven games before facing the Lakers on Wednesday.

Boozer had eight first-half points as Utah jumped out to a 52-48 lead, but the Jazz disappeared from there. They were held to 19 points in the third and six in the fourth as Los Angeles turned a halftime deficit into a 101-77 rout.

"They came out and just destroyed us," coach Jerry Sloan said. "... We have to learn to stay within what we are trying to do. You can't go out and play street basketball against this team. They will annihilate you."

Utah fell to 1-8 when it allows 100 points.

Jazz center Mehmet Okur averaged 7.5 points and shot 2 of 20 in Utah's two losses to Orlando last season.