There will be little time for the Jazz to lick their wounds after losing to the defending champion Lakers on Wednesday night. The second of last season's NBA Finals teams will be waiting at EnergySolutions Arena for them just 24 hours later. The Jazz will have to quickly turn their attention to the Orlando Magic, who own a 10-2 road record and are riding an eight-game road winning streak. The Magic will be making the third stop on a four-game trip. "They're always a good road team," Deron Williams said. "It's going to be another good test for us."
Only a year ago, the Magic came to Utah on the second night of a back-to-back set and drilled the Jazz even with Dwight Howard out injured. The Magic are a tough matchup for the Jazz with the combination of their three-point shooting and Howard inside.
Howard had a monster 25-point, 11-rebound, seven-block, five-assist game for the Magic in Tuesday's victory over the Clippers. The Jazz will have to decide whether it is best to have Mehmet Okur, Carlos Boozer or possibly Kyrylo Fesenko defend Howard.
Fesenko might present the best option in terms of sheer size, but he did not travel to Los Angeles for Wednesday's game while suffering from a stomach virus. The Jazz would have to be concerned about the possibility of losing Okur or Boozer to foul trouble.
LAKERS 101, JAZZ 77: The Jazz dropped their 13th consecutive game at Staples Center to the Lakers in stunning fashion. Trailing 73-71 after three quarters, the Jazz were outscored 28-6 in the fourth, missing their first 12 shots of the quarter. They shot 2-for-18 overall in the fourth and committed nine turnovers.
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