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Lowly Bucks hope for luck in Magic Kingdom

Jan 31, 2014 - 2:45 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Milwaukee Bucks will take their struggles to the road briefly when they visit the Orlando Magic Friday at Amway Center.

The Bucks lost all three games on their recent homestand and have dropped four in a row overall and 21 of the last 24 games. They have the worst record in the NBA at 8-37 and dropped a 126-117 decision to the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday, as Goran Dragic scored a game-high 30 points to lead the Suns.

Ersan Ilyasova scored 27 points, Brandon Knight finished with 24 points and eight assists and Kris Middleton chipped in 17 points for the Bucks, who made 42.7 percent of their shots and scored 18 points off 15 Phoenix turnovers.

"There were some positives to come out of this game, and we're going to continue to try to build on the positives," Bucks coach Larry Drew said.

Larry Sanders and Nate Wolters had 14 and 11 points, respectively, in defeat.

Milwaukee will visit Memphis on its quick trip, has a 4-19 road mark and is winless in the past seven games outside the Bradley Center. The Bucks are last in points per game at 91.7 ppg this season.

In injury news for the Bucks, guard O.J. Mayo (flu) is questionable Friday.

Orlando lost all of its games on a recent three-game road trip and is scheduled to play five of the next seven games at home.

The Magic are just 2-15 in the last 17 games and suffered a 98-83 loss at Toronto the previous time out on Wednesday. Kyle Lowry paced the Raptors with 33 points and 11 assists, and Amir Johnson added 22 points for the hosts.

"A talented bunch," Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said of the Raptors. "Athletic and long, even without (DeMar) DeRozan."

DeRozan is dealing with a foot injury and leads Toronto in scoring (21.8 ppg).

Magic center Nikola Vucevic appeared in his first game since Jan. 6 because of a concussion and had 16 points and 10 rebounds. Jameer Nelson (13), Victor Oladipo (12) and Arron Afflalo (10) rounded out the double-digit scorers for the Magic, who made 33.3 percent for the game and only 6-of-19 3-pointers.

The Magic have a 9-14 record in central Florida this season and handed the Bucks a 94-91 defeat in the first of four matchups on Nov. 13. Afflalo poured in 36 points in that one for Orlando, which has won nine of the last 11 meetings between the teams.

Milwaukee has lost 15 straight and 16 of its last 17 at Orlando and will host the Magic on Feb. 18 and March 10 at the Bradley Center.