LeBron James and Dwight Howard are headed to China.

James and the Cleveland Cavaliers will face Howard and the Orlando Magic in a pair of exhibition games in China in October, the NBA announced Thursday.

The games will be October 17 and October 20. The first will be played at the 13,779-seat Qizhong Forest Sports Arena in Shanghai. The second contest will take place at the 15,000-seat Venetian Arena in Macao.

Darko Milicic lost his job in the starting lineup because of injury, but isn't afraid that the demotion will hurt him this summer when he becomes a free agent.

Milicic will become a restricted free agent this summer, meaning the Magic can match any contract offer he receives. He can get contract of six years from Orlando, but the Magic will likely opt to go with a short-term deal.

"It just happens that I couldn't play the same night that Tony was coming back because of my back injury," Milicic said. "I'm starting to get my minutes back now coming off the bench. I'm not worried about (the demotion). I just want to help this team get into the playoffs. That's all I'm thinking about now."

Keyon Dooling, guard for the Orlando Magic, can opt out of his contract after the season but doesn't plan to test free-agency.

"That probably is not the way to go for a guy like me," Dooling said. "We all saw what happened to DeShawn Stevenson."

Magic power forward Darko Milicic missed his first game of the season Wednesday night, complaining of lower back pain.

Milicic was laboring through portions of Monday night's road game at Charlotte, N.C., and was trying to stretch out after the shootaround.

Jameer Nelson could become a restricted free agent this summer and there are differing opinions on

Steve Mountain, Nelson's agent, recently told the Sentinel that he believes "Jameer has done enough" to prove himself after almost three seasons. The Magic have a different opinion.

"I don't think Jameer's had the best of years," GM Otis Smith said.

Brian Hill will return next season as head coach of the Orlando Magic says general manager Otis Smith.

"We're not letting him go," Smith said. "I fully expect him to fulfill his contractual obligations."

The Magic have been in a slump since their 13-4 start and are in danger of missing the playoffs but Smith is not putting the blame on coach Hill.

"I don't think he's done a bad job," said Smith, who is in his first season as general manager. "My coach has done a good job to this point. Our guys have just not played very good basketball."

The Magic said Friday that Hedo Turkoglu has a broken nose and will try to play with a protective mask on Sunday in Houston when the clubs faces the Rockets.

Turkoglu was injured Thursday night in a 100-76 loss to the Chicago Bulls at Amway Arena. He left the game in the second quarter and did not return, finishing with just two points in almost 14 minutes.

He will be fitted in Houston for a mask similar to the one worn by Piston Richard Hamilton. It will be a game-time decision whether Turkoglu will play against the Rockets.

Grant Hill has stayed healthier this season than he has in the past few years, and he's determined to finish one of the Orlando Magic's more successful campaigns in recent years.

Despite a cyst in his foot, Hill says he will be back on the court on Thursday, according to an Orlando Sentinel report.

Hill has missed the last three games with what the club characterized as arthritic pain in his left foot. He missed seven games early in February with a sprained knee.

The Magic are likely to extend the contract of Dwight Howard this summer.

The contract, beginning in 2008, likely will total about $87.5 million. It could start around $14.5 million and finish at $20.5 million.

The Orlando Magic once again lost veteran forward Grant Hill, who left late in the second quarter of last night's loss to Denver and never returned because of a sore left foot, a problem that has lingered through much of the season.

Hill missed seven games in February with a sprained right knee, and he missed three games from Dec. 30 to Jan. 5, also with that sore left foot. He skipped three games early in the season -- all on the second half of back-to-back nights -- as a precaution against possible injury.

He missed most of his first four seasons with the Magic because of multiple surgeries with his left ankle, and he played only 21 games last season because of a hernia.

"It's sore on the top of my midfoot. A couple of days rest and it should be all right,'' Hill said as he limped out of the locker room. "It was bothering me before the game, and I tried to get it loose. It's actually been bothering me, and I've been getting treatment for it most of the season. Hopefully, I can get it ready for the weekend.''