The Orlando Magic will visit the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center on Friday evening.

Friday's visit to Denver will be the start of a five-game road trip for the Magic (9-9), who are off to a strong start to the season. After finding themselves in the lottery for the last several seasons, the Magic currently sit at seventh place in the Eastern Conference standings. Orlando has won three of its last four games, with the lone loss coming by just two points at the hands of the powerhouse Toronto Raptors on Tuesday. In the loss, shooting guard Evan Fournier led the team with 27 points. Big man Nikola Vucevic added an impressive double-double, finishing with 14 points and 18 rebounds. Orlando has, thus far, found much of its success on the defensive end, where it is holding opponents to 108.6 points per game. That mark ranks ninth across the league.

Denver (11-7), meanwhile, has slumped significantly since starting the season 9-1. The Nuggets have won just two of their last eight games, though they did earn a 103-101 win in Minnesota on Wednesday. In the win, star center Nikola Jokic notched a rare double-double without reaching double-digit points, scoring just seven but tallying 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Veteran big man Paul Millsap added 25 points. Despite their recent slump, the Nuggets still rank in the top 10 in the league in both offensive and defensive rating. Jokic is also putting together a superstar-caliber season, averaging 17.2 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 7.1 assists.