Magic at Jazz
The Utah Jazz are on pace to win 50 games as they reached the midway point of the season and look to start the second half strong when they host the Orlando Magic on Saturday. Utah rolled to a 110-77 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Friday for its seventh victory in the past 10 games.
The Jazz have missed the playoffs in five of the last six seasons but are a solid fifth in the Western Conference race despite missing starters George Hill and Derrick Favors for significant portions of the first half. "We're good. Obviously we have a lot of tough games left but we've come together, especially with the injuries and everybody coming back," Favors said after Friday's victory. "So we're still building that chemistry and learning to play off each other but overall, we're in a great place." Orlando snapped a four-game losing streak as it posted a 115-109 road win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday. The Magic are 1-2 on a six-game road excursion that ends with games against the Denver Nuggets and New Orleans Pelicans.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FSN Florida (Orlando), ROOT (Utah)
ABOUT THE MAGIC (17-24): Center Nikola Vucevic has delivered back-to-back double-doubles since being reinstated to the starting lineup and he was terrific with a season-best 30 points to go with 10 rebounds against Portland. Vucevic vocally expressed his displeasure when coach Frank Vogel turned him into a reserve and is now appreciative to be back among the starting five. "It wasn't easy for me to be on the bench and obviously you all know how I felt about it," Vucevic said after his 13-of-18 shooting performance. "I'm glad I'm back now in the position where I feel most comfortable and the position I think I deserve to be. Now I just want to take advantage of it and help this team win."
ABOUT THE JAZZ (25-16): Shooting guard Rodney Hood was superb in the rout of Detroit and was 7-of-8 from 3-point range while scoring a season-best 27 points. Hood has made 11 3-pointers while averaging 22.5 points over the past two games after enduring a four-game slump in which he averaged seven points on 11-of-40 shooting. "Confidence, that's the thing with Rodney," small forward Gordon Hayward said afterward. "When he gets going, he can really score in bunches on you for sure and do his own personal runs."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Jazz have won eight of the past 12 meetings, including an 87-74 victory over the Magic on Nov. 11.
2. Orlando PF Serge Ibaka (shoulder) contributed 13 points and 10 rebounds against Portland after a one-game absence.
3. Utah C Rudy Gobert collected 11 rebounds Friday to run his streak of consecutive double-digit rebounding outings to 26.