Who: Orlando Magic vs. Portland Trail Blazers.
When: 7:30p.m. today.
Where: Orlando's TD Waterhouse Centre.
TV, radio: Sunshine Network; WMEL-AM 920 and WDBO-AM 580.
Starters: Orlando -- guards Darrell Armstrong, Tracy McGrady; forwards Mike Miller, Pat Garrity; center Horace Grant. Portland -- guards Damon Stoudamire, Scottie Pippen; forwards Bonzi Wells, Rasheed Wallace; center Dale Davis.
Magic notes: Orlando defeated the 76ers 102-91 in Philadelphia Wednesday night. The victory was the fourth in a row for the Magic and their sixth win in the past seven games. Orlando is over .500 for the first time since Dec. 8 when it was 11-10. . . For the second time in a week, Tracy McGrady came two assists shy of a triple double. Against the Sixers he had 26 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. . . The difference for the Magic now is that McGrady is getting plenty of help. Horace Grant played his finest game of the season, scoring 21 points. Eight of Grant's points came on four jumpers late in the fourth quarter with the game on the line. . . Mike Miller is out of his shooting slump and has played particularly well of late. In his last four games, he's scored 18, 19, 27 and 18 points. . . Pat Garrity started at power forward and Grant shifted to center because of the calf/Achilles injury to veteran Patrick Ewing. Ewing was placed on the injured list Wednesday, meaning he must miss a minimum of five games. . . Led by Troy Hudson's resurgence, Orlando's bench is averaging a NBA best 35.5 points a game.
Blazers notes: Portland entered Thursday night's game in Miami mired in another losing funk. Despite having the NBA's second-highest payroll ($84 million to the Knicks $85 million), the Blazers have lost seven of nine games. They woke up Thursday morning just 2 1/2 games out of last place in the Pacific Division. . . Portland was beaten 101-92 by the 13-21 Atlanta Hawks Tuesday night. The Blazers are just 5-12 on the road this season. . . Rasheed Wallace's numbers are down this season, largely because he has shown a reluctance to post up. For whatever reason, he has attempted more than 100 3-pointers and is shooting just 30 percent from beyond the arc. . . Bonzi Wells started the season looking like an all-star player. He averaged 18.8 points in his first 19 games. But after missing six games with a knee injury, he averaged just nine points in the next seven games. He showed signs of coming out of the slump Tuesday in Atlanta, putting up 26 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. . . Shawn Kemp hasn't started a game all season and is getting to play very little. Kemp, who is making $12.7 million this year, is averaging 4.9 points and 2.8 rebounds a game.
Next for the Magic: Saturday, vs. New Jersey Nets, 7:30 p.m. (Sunshine Network).