The Magic Closed On An 18-4 Run To Erase A 10-Point Deficit And Beat The Rockets

Random losses happen throughout an 82-game NBA season and nothing proves that more than the Magic’s win over the Rockets on Sunday night.

Orlando is a team still trying to find itself. The Magic are on their third coach in four seasons, most of the same core, with a new GM and President. The Rockets meanwhile were one game away from the NBA Finals last season and have recently hit their stride behind MVP-caliber play from James Harden. These are two teams on completely different paths.

Yet, the Magic pulled out a win over the Rockets, convincingly at that. In the closing moments of the game, Orlando moved the ball with vigor, found open three-pointers, and just made better plays to close out the game. It was a rare sight from a very inconsistent team. What made it even weirder is, the Rockets had already built up a sizable lead in the fourth quarter. Midway through the fourth quarter, the Rockets led by 10 points. James Harden finished the game with 38 points. Austin Rivers chipped in 25. The Rockets typically win these games.
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However, Orlando kept its cool and played under control. While Houston’s offense staggered, the Magic offense came alive thanks to ball movement and clutch play from key guys like Nikola Vucevic.

The Vucevic dunk ended up being the start of a huge closing run by the Orlando offense. Houston’s defense was out of sorts. It would force the Magic to make the extra pass constantly, but never once were the Rockets able to close out the play. That ended up being their downfall.
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Watch them begin a possession with D.J. Augustin and then methodically attack the Rockets switching defense. Eventually, the ball ends up back in the hands of Augustin on the other side of the floor and he works his way to an open 3-pointer. This was the story of the entire night and the Magic worked that defense to the tune of an 18-4 run to close the game and win by seven.

The Magic walked away victors and they did what was necessary to do that, but it’s rare to see the Rockets go into a full on meltdown like this. When the final buzzer sounded the Magic were dribbling out the ball comfortably.

There were multiple factors for why the Rockets ended up in this situation, but none were as large as Harden’s three-point shooting. Some guys have off nights, and Harden hit his during the worst possible. Despite an impressive scoring performance, he finished the game 1-for-16 from three-point range. If he makes even half those attempts then this probably isn’t a close game and the Rockets are walking away comfortable. Instead, the Magic were allowed to hang around and they stole a win.