The red-hot Orlando Magic shoot for their sixth straight win Tuesday when they resume a four-game western road swing in Hollywood against the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Magic will also be attempting to earn a franchise record with their eighth straight road win in a season and match the 1995-96 Orlando team that opened up that season 17-4. The Magic did win nine straight as the visitor before but that spanned two seasons, the final two road games of 2006-07 and the first seven in the following season.
Orlando won the opener of the trek up the coast in Oakland on Saturday when Vince Carter went 12-of-12 from the foul line on his way to 27 points while dishing out seven assists and grabbing five rebounds, as Orlando used a late run to take down the Golden State Warriors, 126-118.
Former Warrior Mickael Pietrus drained 4-of-8 shots from beyond the arc on his way to 22 points for the Magic, who have won 10 of 11 overall. Rashard Lewis chipped in 20 points while Dwight Howard ended with 17 points and eight rebounds for Orlando.
"We continued to push when we needed, and we were able to get to the free throw line at the end of the game that preserved the win," Carter said.
The Magic, who are an impressive 9-2 on the road and lead the Southeast Division by two games over Atlanta, will finish their trip with visits to Utah and Phoenix.
The Clippers, meanwhile, improved to 2-1 on a long, six-game homestand Saturday when Marcus Camby had a solid all-around performance with 12 points, 17 rebounds, six assists and three blocks, carrying Los Angeles to an 88-72 win over Indiana.
Al Thornton contributed 19 points and seven boards for the Clippers, who won for the third time in four games overall. Chris Kaman added 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Baron Davis and Eric Gordon scored 12 and 10, respectively.
"Defensively, we were pretty good, especially on the boards with 19 offensive rebounds," said Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy. "We were able to limit their shooters to tough shots and our second group gave us a lift."
Orlando has won five straight over the Clips, last losing on Dec. 3, 2006 in LA