Magic 104, Rockets 101
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Center Nikola Vucevic scored 21 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead the Orlando Magic to a 104-101 victory over the Houston Rockets Wednesday night at the Amway Center.
The Magic (17-12) won for the fifth time in the last six games, snapping a three-game winning streak by the Rockets (15-15).
Rockets guard James Harden led everyone with 31 points and seven assists. Dwight Howard had 12 points and seven rebounds. Reserve Ty Lawson had 11 points and Clint Capela had 10 points.
The Magic got 19 points and eight rebounds from forward Tobias Harris and 17 points from guard Evan Fournier, who hit the go-ahead basket with 14 seconds remaining. Elfrid Payton had 12 points and nine assists. Channing Frye had 10 points. Reserve Aaron Gordon had 14 points.
Fournier hit a short jumper to give the Magic a 102-101 lead. Harris hit two free throws with 1.1 seconds remaining. Patrick Beverly had hit two free throws with :26 remaining for the 101-100 Rockets lead.
The Rockets took their first lead of the second half, 99-98, when Harden scored with 2:44 remaining.
Sparked by Harden and Lawson, the Rockets made a 13-0 run early in the fourth quarter to pull within one point. Lawson hit a 3-pointer with 5:06 remaining to cut the deficit to 96-95.
The Magic scored the first six points of the second half to open a 12-point lead. They led 87-74 going into the fourth, never losing control in the third period when Harris scored eight of his points.
The Magic led 59-53 at intermission, riding a surprising burst from Gordon. He had 14 points in the second period, matching his scoring total from the previous five games combined.
Harden scored 13 points in the first period, his third consecutive game of scoring at least 10 points in the first 12 minutes. After trailing by as many as 10 points early, the Rockets rode Harden through a 21-3 run.
Fournier hit back-to-back 3-pointers late in the second period for the 59-50 lead. Patrick Beverly countered with another 3-pointer just before halftime.
Vucevic had 11 points and four rebounds at intermission. Reserve Terrence Jones gave the Rockets an early spark with eight points in 12 first-half minutes. Lawson returned from his two-game suspension and was the first Rockets guard off the bench.
NOTES: Magic coach Scott Skiles had some high praise for Rockets G James Harden before the game when talking about his ability to create free throw opportunities. Harden is averaging a league-high 11.1 attempts per game after leading the NBA last season at 10.2 per game. Harden came into the game having made 26 more free throws this season (322) than anyone else in the league had taken. "He's maybe the best of all time in drawing fouls," Skiles said. "And it has such a powerful effect on the game." ... Rockets G Ty Lawson returned to action on Wednesday after a two-game suspension for a DUI offense last summer. ... The Magic recalled G Devyn Marble on Wednesday from the Erie BayHawks of the NBA Development League. He was averaging 13.9 points and 2.9 assists. ... The Magic went into the game with a 10-4 record since putting F Channing Frye in the starting lineup in place of G Victor Oladipo. ... The Rockets beat the Magic in overtime earlier this season in Houston when C Dwight Howard hit all 10 of his shots from the field and scored 23 points. ... Howard believes his recent one-on-one workouts with Harden have been key to their recent rise. "We've had opportunities to really try and figure this out, how we can become a dominant tandem that we need to be to win," Howard said.