James Harden scored 40 points and led a comeback for the Houston Rockets to beat the Orlando Magic late once again in another frustrating loss.
The Orlando Magic have seemingly played this game numerous times.
Take a big lead with some strong play only to watch their opponent inch their way back in and add a superstar flourish to the end. It has become so much of a pattern that it is almost expected.
Orlando went up by 16 points in the first half. The Houston Rockets came back. The Magic withstood every rally until the pressure ramped up at the end of the game.
James Harden continually applied that pressure.
He gave the Rockets the lead at 95-93. Harden then hit a 3-pointer to give the Rockets a three-point lead after the Magic answered. He added a step-back mid-range jumper for good measure to give the Rockets a five-point lead.
All the while the Magic’s hopes sank. Nikola Vucevic struggled once again to make shots down the stretch. Orlando had only 16 points in the final quarter. And the team’s hopes for a win and a sweep over a strong Houston team fell short.
The Rockets sent the Magic to 20-30 with a narrow 103-98 victory at Toyota Center on Sunday.
Orlando led for the majority of the game, but Houston stepped up their game when it mattered the most outscoring Orlando 29-16 in the final quarter. The Magic had been able to keep the Rockets at a distance, but they could only do it for so long.
Harden was himself, scoring 40 points on 14-for-27 shooting from the field. Evan Fournier was tasked with guarding James Harden and he did as well as most of the league. It was never a question of whether or not Harden would get off his shot, the question was when.
Orlando kept Harden and his teammates under wraps for most of the game. The team had some rough offensive moments but maintained the lead by attacking the glass effectively.
Orlando outrebounded Houston 56-39 and played superb team defense all night but just could not muster up enough offense to close out the game. Orlando shot just 40.2 percent from the floor and 10 for 35 from beyond the arc. Eventually, the offense dried up for the Magic.
The routine 3-pointers and 15-footers did not fall and the Rockets kept the ball out of Nikola Vucevic’s hands down the stretch.
The Orlando Magic are back in action Tuesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder to start a three-game homestand. They are four games back of the Charlotte Hornets for the final spot in the Playoffs.