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By John Denton
Dec. 23, 2015
ORLANDO – Home for the holidays with one of the longest home stands of the season right here at Christmas, the Orlando Magic gave themselves a nice present on Wednesday night: A signature win.
Sure, Houston has been one of the NBA’s most disappointing teams in the NBA this season, but for the Magic the Rockets still represented a star-studded powerhouse who is just a few months removed from playing in the Western Conference.
Orlando has done a good job of beating lesser teams this season, but it has struggled for the most part against the NBA’s elite. Other than beating Toronto in November, the Magic have been in search of a perennial playoff powerhouse.
That big moment finally came on Wednesday night when Orlando played especially well for three quarters, weathered a furious flurry from Houston and got a clutch layup from guard Evan Fournier with the game on the line. Coming through in the clutch allowed Orlando to win 104-101 to the delight of 17,061 fans at the Amway Center.
Down one with 26.9 seconds to play, Orlando put the ball in the hands of Fournier, who has been their best late-game shooter all season in the clutch. Fournier drove hard down the left side of the lane and calmly banked in the go-ahead shot with 14.2 seconds to play.
Houston star James Harden (31 points and seven assists) tried lobbing to Dwight Howard (12 points, seven rebounds and six dunks), but the ball got batted around. Long-time Magic nemesis Trevor Ariza (eight points) missed all eight of his 3-point shots – including the one that would have broken the hearts of the Magic with eight seconds to play. Tobias Harris made two free throws with 1.1 seconds to play and Orlando dodged a bullet when Marcus Thornton’s heave at the buzzer hit the top of the backboard.
Nikola Vucevic scored 21 points, leading Orlando in scoring for a third straight game. Harris was solid throughout with 19 points and eight rebounds.
Fournier chipped in 17 points, five rebounds and four assists, while Channing Frye added 10.
Aaron Gordon scored 14 – all in the first half.
The Magic (17-12) won for a fifth time in the past six games. They did it by shooting 52.4 percent from the floor and handing out 26 assists. Orlando was able to survive Houston making 49.4 percent of its shots.
Magic point guard Elfrid Payton was effective despite being listed as questionable because a lingering ankle sprain. Payton, who was pulled from Monday’s win in New York in the first quarter, scored 12 points and handed out nine assists – six of those points and three assists coming in the third period when the Magic separated themselves.
Orlando will be back on the practice floor on Christmas Eve, but the team will take Christmas Day off before hosting the Miami Heat on Saturday night. The Heat squandered a 19-point lead and lost to Detroit on Tuesday night.
Following Saturday’s game, Orlando will close out its four-game home stand against New Orleans (Monday) and Brooklyn (next Wednesday).
Wednesday’s game was the second – and final – between Orlando and Houston this season. The Rockets won 114-109 in overtime on Nov. 4 in Houston. In that game, Orlando played well throughout, but let a late lead get away from them in the fourth quarter.
Up six at the half, Orlando extended the lead out to as much as 13 points in the third quarter with a shooting showcase. The Magic gashed Houston for 13 of 20 shooting in the third quarter for 20 points in the paint. Ten of their final 11 baskets were either layups or dunks in the third, allowing the Magic to push the lead out to 87-74 by the start of the fourth.
Payton’s ankle didn’t seem to be a problem after halftime as he attacked both Patrick Beverley and Ty Lawson. He had two dunks in the period – the second one coming after he wrapped the dribble behind his back and split the lane.
Orlando led 59-53 at the half despite allowing the Rockets to shoot 52.4 percent in the first 24 minutes of the game. The Magic started well, slogged along late in the first quarter and then surged into the lead thanks to some timely play from reserves.
Gordon, who played well against Houston on Nov. 4, was a spectacular first half. He had 14 first-half points, scoring four straight Orlando baskets at one point and contributing 10 of 14 points during one stretch of the second period. He gave the Rockets fits with his explosiveness and hustle, converting two dunks and a follow tip-in in just 8 minutes on the floor.
Oladipo has seen his offensive rating go up since being moved to a reserve role 15 games ago and that was the case again on Wednesday. He missed all five of his shots, but he made an impact with six assists and four rebounds in the first half. Frye, another benefactor of the lineup change, made the Rockets pay for trying to use Howard on him in the first half. Left open on the perimeter, he scored eight points and hit two 3-pointers in the first half. And when the defense stayed close on Frye, it helped out Vucevic (11 first-half points) and Fournier (nine first-half points).
Howard picked up two fouls in the game’s first five minutes, but Houston picked up the pace with him on the bench. Once down 20-10, Houston used a 23-7 spurt behind Harden (13 points and four assists in the first half). Howard had three first-half field goals – all of them dunks – for six points early on.
