Howard looks to lead the Southeast Division-leading Magic to their 16th straight home win over the Northwest-best Nuggets on Wednesday night in their final game before the All-Star break.

Orlando (38-12) defeated New Jersey 101-84 on Sunday to improve to 2-1 since All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson suffered a shoulder injury.

Despite the injury to Nelson, who's still deciding whether to have season-ending surgery or hold off and attempt rehabilitation, the Magic are still one of the teams to beat in the Eastern Conference.

"This year we have a great chance to do something special. We can't let that go, " said Howard, whose play is a big reason why Orlando is considered a contender.

Howard had 30 points and 16 rebounds on Sunday for his 16th straight double-double. The 6-foot-11 center has scored at least 30 points in two of Orlando's last three home games, and has helped lead the Magic to the NBA's fourth-best home record (20-5).

Orlando has been considerably better against the Nuggets (35-17) at home some time. The Magic haven't lost to them since 89-82 defeat on March 10, 1992, and the 15-game winning streak is Orlando's longest current run at home over any opponent.

The Magic beat the Nuggets 109-98 last season at Amway Arena, and have won seven of the last eight meetings by at least nine points.

On Jan. 17 in Denver, the Magic cruised 106-88 behind Hedo Turkoglu's 31 points. Howard finished with 14 points and 20 rebounds, and is averaging 20.0 points and 17.3 boards in his last four games against the Nuggets.

Denver bounced back in its last game, defeating Miami 99-82 on Tuesday after being blown out 114-70 by New Jersey on Saturday.

"When it came down to it, we took the challenge," Nuggets guard Anthony Carter said.

Chauncey Billups, who has been bothered by a sprained right ankle, also bounced back from a couple of subpar performances to help the Nuggets win for the eighth time in 10 games.

Billups scored 13 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter on Tuesday after averaging just 9.7 points in his previous three games. He had 18 points in the loss to Orlando earlier this season.

Denver improved to 10-0 when holding opponents to 90 points or fewer, but it will likely have trouble slowing down the high-powered Magic. Orlando is seventh in the league in scoring (102.8), and is 27-3 when scoring at least 100 points.

The Nuggets also boast one of the league's top offenses (103.9), but they haven't been getting as much production from Carmelo Anthony lately.

Anthony finished with 19 points on 5-of-15 shooting against the Heat, and is averaging 19.0 points in his last three games. Denver, though, is 19-3 when he scores 20 points or more.

Anthony missed the game against the Magic in January because of a fractured right hand, but is averaging 30.3 points in four games against them since the 2006-07 season.