Nikola Vucevic has said that he enjoys facing players that are better than him.

The center faced Dwight Howard during the Orlando Magic's pre-season loss to the Houston Rockets yesterday.

The 22-year-old told the team's website: "You've got to do your job [defensively] early against a guy like Dwight because he's very physical. If you let him catch it deep there's not a lot that you can do.

"So I was trying to be as physical as I can be. I tried to make him catch it as far away as I could and my teammates did a great job of helping me on the backside when I was fronting him. I tried to limit him as much as I could and still help on the guards when they drove.

"I enjoy going against guys who are better than me. Those are the guys that I need to catch up to to get to their level. So I like going against better players. I get to see where I am and it's a fun experience."

Vucevic added six points in the 108-104 defeat.