Rockets 118, Magic 110
James Harden scored 20 of his 24 points in the second half and visiting Houston pulled away late to snap a two-game losing skid.
Carlos Delfino and Chandler Parsons added 21 points apiece for the Rockets, who trailed 100-98 with 5:09 left before scoring 11 unanswered points to lead by nine with 3:28 remaining. Delfino made five of Houston's 15 shots from 3-point range.
Orlando lost for the 19th time in its last 21 games despite shooting 56.4 percent from the floor. Tobias Harris had a career-high 27 points on 11-of-15 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds.
Facing its third consecutive sub-.500 Eastern Conference team, Houston shot 54.5 percent from the field and ended a five-game losing streak to Orlando. Rookie forward Donatas Motiejunas scored a career-high 17 points and Patrick Beverley sparked the Rockets’ late surge with 10 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter.
Arron Afflalo scored 19 points and E'Twaun Moore had a career-high 11 assists tonight for Orlando, which cut the lead to five with 46 seconds left before Houston hit six straight free throws to seal the win.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Magic PG Jameer Nelson missed his fifth straight game with a knee contusion. … The Rockets improved to 13-19 on the road and moved 2 1/2 games ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers in the battle for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. … Harris is averaging 20 points and 7.3 rebounds in four games since being acquired from Milwaukee.