Magic use fourth-quarter surges to get past Rockets despite 38 points from James Harden

James McKern
and others
• 2 min read
#Magic

The Orlando Magic pulled a rabbit out of the hat as they recorded a big 116-109 home victory over the Houston Rockets.

MORE: Ben Simmons' career-high leads 76ers over Knicks

James Harden entered the contest riding one of the hottest individual streaks the NBA has seen, but his efforts couldn't get the job done. The reigning MVP finished with 38 points, nine rebounds and 12 assists as he pushed his streak of 30+ points out to 16 straight games, but he shot 11-for-32 from the field and 1-for-17 from deep.

Unfortunately for the Rockets, it mattered for little as an all-around team effort from the Magic saw them rally late in the fourth to take the victory. Down by seven points at halftime, the Magic clicked into gear in the second half and cut the deficit down to just two points entering the final frame.

But as the final quarter got underway it was the Rockets who responded and pushed the lead back out to 10 with under eight minutes remaining.

The Magic refused to back down and with just over three minutes to play they took back the lead after a big Terrence Ross three.

That was the first of three straight threes the Magic would hit as they overtook t he Rockets and took the insurmountable 112-107 lead after some perfect ball movement ended with DJ Augustin burying the uncontested trey.


Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic paced the Magic as the big men combined for 44 points, 17 rebounds and 11 assists.



It's the second-straight victory for the Magic, who outlasted the Celtics on Saturday. They'll look to make it three straight when they travel into Detroit on Wednesday.

The Rockets have been up and down since 2019 started and have yet to record two straight victories in their six games played. They'll look to get back in the win column when they host the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday.
 

Author(s)
James McKern