ORLANDO, Fla. — The Houston Rockets proved to be the best in a battle of two of the NBA’s worst teams, defeating the Orlando Magic 114-110 Sunday at Amway Center.
The Magic held a 59-53 lead at halftime, but the Rockets took control by scoring 12 unanswered points at the beginning of the third quarter and eventually bolted out to an 80-70 lead.
The Rockets, however, looked to be in trouble shortly after grabbing their biggest lead of the game.
Houston’s Kevin Porter Jr. wreaked havoc against the Magic in the first 30 minutes, scoring 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Then he picked up his fifth foul with five minutes left in the third quarter and Houston had to look elsewhere for offensive production.
No problem for Christian Wood. He had already pulled down nine rebounds in the first half, but then he took over on offense, scoring 25 points, including hitting three 3-pointers. Center Kelly Olynyk added 24 points, and Houston had three players score more than 20 points.
Porter Jr. eventually fouled out with seven minutes remaining and the Rockets leading 98-91.
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Orlando tried chipping away at the lead. The Magic got as close as 110-108 with 30 seconds left, but the Rockets kept them at bay from there.
Orlando’s Dwayne Bacon nearly willed his team to victory, scoring 22 points and the Magic had five other players in double figures.
During the first half, the Magic fired away from distance, hitting 8-of-19 3-pointers and shooting 48% overall.
Orlando spread around the scoring in the first half, with Dwayne Bacon leading the way with 11 points. Chuma Okeke and Wendell Carter Jr. each scored nine points. Mo Bamba continued to take advantage of his minutes since the trade deadline, scoring seven points and pulling down four rebounds.
Rebounds, however, were an issue for the Magic at the break. The Rockets led the category 23-17 with Wood pulling down nine.
Orlando used 3-point shooting accuracy to pull in front 59-53 at halftime, but then the Rockets rattled off 12 straight points to open the second half and take a 66-63 lead with 8:19 left in the third quarter.
The Magic next go on the road to face the Atlanta Hawks at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
