Magic 120, Rockets 113
Victor Oladipo poured in 32 points to go with six rebounds and six assists as host Orlando knocked off Houston.
Nikola Vucevic recorded his NBA-best 24th double-double with 25 points and 12 rebounds for the Magic, who have won two straight following a six-game skid. Channing Frye and Elfrid Payton scored 15 points apiece and Ben Gordon added 12 off the bench for Orlando.
James Harden finished with 26 points, 10 assists, five steals and seven turnovers for the Rockets, who had won four straight overall and four in a row against Orlando. Dwight Howard added 23 points and eight rebounds against his former team while Patrick Beverley scored 17 points and Trevor Ariza contributed 15.
The Magic raced out to a 16-4 lead less than four minutes into the game and maintained the double-digit advantage after one quarter. The Rockets charged back and went ahead 47-43 on Howard's bucket with 3:21 left in the half, but Oladipo scored eight straight points during a 10-0 spurt as Orlando regained a 55-52 lead at the break.
Orlando's lead reached nine on Vucevic's three-point play with 6:11 left in the third quarter, but Houston rallied again with a 15-4 run and moved ahead 81-79 on Howard's basket with 2:16 to play in the quarter. The fourth quarter alone featured 11 lead changes, the last of which came when Payton drove for a bucket to make it 108-107 with 1:58 left, and Vucevic converted a three-point play with 47.3 second to play to help the Magic seal it.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Houston fell to 21-4 when scoring at least 100 points. … Magic F Tobias Harris missed his third straight game with an ankle injury. … Orlando finished with 14 steals with Oladipo, Vucevic and G Evan Fournier each swiping three.