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Trail Blazers' road trip continues against Magic

Jan 19, 2008 - 3:37 PM Portland (24-15) at Orlando (24-17) 7:00 pm EST

ORLANDO, Florida (Ticker) -- The surprising Portland Trail Blazers continue a season-long seven-game road trip Saturday against the Orlando Magic.

The Trail Blazers improved to 2-2 on the trip with a 98-91 victory in Miami on Friday, overcoming 37 points from the Heat's Dwyane Wade.

"We had control of the game, and then we took a punch from them in the third quarter," said Portland coach Nate McMillan, whose team is the youngest in the NBA. "We were able to recover and win the game. That is part of the growth that we are starting to see."

The Trail Blazers are 19-3 in their last 22 games to climb to the top of the Northwest Division.

The Magic have been struggling since getting off to a 16-4 start. Orlando's 99-93 loss at Charlotte on Wednesday was its sixth in the last eight games.

"We play hard to a certain point, and then we start relaxing," said Orlando's Dwight Howard, who recorded his league-leading 36th double-double against the Bobcats.

The Magic, who still lead the Southeast Division despite their recent troubles, are just 8-8 at home. Orlando, which is 16-9 on the road, plays 25 of its final 41 games at home.

The teams played once this season, with the Magic winning in Portland, 85-74, on November 26. Hedo Turkoglu scored 21 points and Rashard Lewis added 20 for Orlando.