(My Sportsbook) - The best and worst of the Southeast Division will go head- to-head when the first-place Orlando Magic host the Washington Wizards this evening at Amway Arena.

Orlando enters tonight's clash owning a 1 1/2-game lead on Atlanta for the division's top spot and is riding a four-game winning streak that was extended with Tuesday's 99-82 decision over visiting Milwaukee. The victory was also the Magic's sixth in a row at Amway Arena, where the reigning Eastern Conference champions have compiled an excellent 19-4 mark thus far in 2009-10.

Dwight Howard led the way in Tuesday's triumph with 22 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks, while Vince Carter broke out of a personal scoring slump by amassing 17 points and 10 rebounds. The eight-time All-Star had averaged a mere 4.7 points over Orlando's previous three contests and made just 5-of-28 field goal attempts over that stretch.

J.J. Redick added 15 points off the bench for Orlando, which outscored the Bucks 27-10 in the second quarter to build a comfortable 14-point halftime lead. The Magic played strong defense throughout the game, limiting Milwaukee to 36.3 percent shooting from the field.

"We tried not to let them get it into the paint," said Howard. "We have to protect the interior, not let them get to the basket and score. So we did a good job of that."

Washington brings an unwanted 16-32 overall record into this evening's matchup and sits next-to-last in the Eastern Conference at the moment. The Wizards have split their last four games, but are coming off back-to-back losses to Boston and the New York Knicks.

The Knicks used a huge late surge to hand the Wizards a 107-85 defeat Wednesday in Madison Square Garden. Washington trailed just 84-79 near the midway point of the fourth quarter before being outscored by a whopping 23-6 margin over the remainder of the game.

"We ran out of gas," Wizards head coach Flip Saunders said. "When teams make runs on us in the fourth quarter, we've melted a lot. It's like we never talk to each other on the court."

Washington was missing one of its top players in Wednesday's loss, with swingman Caron Butler sitting out due to swelling in his left knee. The team is hopeful that the reliable veteran, who's averaging 16.5 points and 6.7 rebounds on the season, will be able to go tonight.

Randy Foye and Nick Young each netted 15 points for the Wizards, who fell to 7-16 on the road.

Orlando played Tuesday's test without guards Jameer Nelson (hyperextended left knee) and Mickael Pietrus (sprained left ankle), but both are expected to be available this evening.

The Magic have won eight of the past 10 meetings between these teams, including the last three bouts held at Amway Arena, but Washington posted a 104-97 home victory over Orlando on January 8. Antawn Jamison paced the Wizards with 28 points and 11 rebounds in that game, while Butler poured in 23 points.