A bruised and battered New Jersey Nets team will try to win their second game in a row Friday night when they travel to Orlando to take on Dwight Howard and the Magic.
After losing four straight, the Nets took down the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-94 Wednesday night. Kris Humphries, Brook Lopez and Sasha Vujacic each scored 18 points, while Humphries also pulled down a career-high 23 rebounds.
Humphries is the NBA's leading rebounder for the month of March with 16.5 per game. He finds himself slightly ahead of Howard (16.3) and Minnesota's double-double machine Kevin Love (14.9).
The Nets will have to take on one of the East's best teams without the services of Deron Williams, Damion James and Sundiata Gaines. Williams will be re-evaluated when the Nets return to Newark for Tuesday's game against the Houston Rockets, while Gaines is out for the season with a fractured hip.
With two point guards missing from the lineup, Vujacic will continue to see some time running the offense as a backup to Jordan Farmar along with rookie Ben Uzoh, fresh off a stint in the D-League.
Orlando has won four straight, the latest a 111-99 pasting of the New York Knicks at the World's Most Famous Arena. Howard dominated with 33 points and 11 rebounds, Jameer Nelson scored 19 while Hedo Turkoglu added 16 to go along with 11 rebounds.
New Jersey has dropped six in a row to Orlando and 10 of the last 11.
The final stop of the Nets' quick three-game road trip is Saturday night against the Atlanta Hawks.