Now they find out if they can beat the good teams, going to Portland, Phoenix and Utah for their next three games on this five-game road trip. They will finish the trip at Golden State.

The Trail Blazers, Tuesday's opponent, haven't lost a game at home this season. The Magic, meanwhile, will arrive with a 7-2 road record.

"We've got all the pieces in place," said point guard Jameer Nelson. "We just have to get everyone playing together for 48 minutes."

The Magic are coming off a come-from-behind victory over the Clippers at Los Angeles, where they rode another monster game by Dwight Howard.

Howard, to celebrate his 23rd birthday, rolled to his second consecutive game of at least 20 points and 20 rebounds. He had 23 and 22, respectively, Monday night.

The Magic's fast start has come despite poor shooting from Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu, along with a lack of good team rebounding. Howard has erased everyone else's mistakes, though, leading the league in both rebounding and blocked shots.

MAGIC 95, CLIPPERS 88: There was too much Dwight Howard for the Clippers to handle Monday night. He had 23 points, 22 rebounds and six blocked shots to lead his team to an impressive victory. Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis struggled in the first half, but both bounced back nicely after intermission. The Magic made only 2 of 13 shots from 3-point range in the first half but hit 8 of 13 in the second half. The Magic also turned to little-used forward Brian Cook, who hit a big 3-pointer late in the game.