Rockets erase 16 point deficit to defeat Orlando Magic

Posted: January 28, 2019 -- 7:19 a.m.

HOUSTON, TX (Toyota Center) -- The Houston Rockets (29-20) used defense in the second half to defeat the Orlando Magic 103-98 Sunday night. The Rockets limited the Magic to 37 points in the second half which helped the Rockets erase 16 point deficit and pick up the win.

Orlando (20-30) shot 51.7% (14 for 27) in the first quarter and led 34-18 after 12 minutes. James Harden was Houston's offense in the first period. Harden scored 15 of the 18 points and made 6 of the 7 field goals.

"Well it (the defense) came back the last three quarters," Mike D'Antoni said after the game. "The first quarter just went away. You know, with Chris (Paul) back, sometimes you have a tendency of saying ‘oh, Chris is back’, and you let down a little bit. They (Orlando Magic) have some very good offensive players and we let them go, and we didn't have the necessary energy to start the game."

Houston's offense heated up in the second quarter making 14 of 19 field goals. After missing 17 games due to an injury, Chris Paul returned to action; and, Paul dished out 4 assists in the second quarter. Most of the assists resulted in dunks by Kenneth Faried on pick-and-rolls.

Houston outscored Orlando 35-27 in the quarter to trim its deficit to eight points (61-53) at halftime.

Both teams cooled off in the third quarter: Houston shot 41.2% (7 for 17) while Orlando shot 40.9% (9 for 22). Orlando led by as much as 15 in the period; but, Houston ended the third quarter down by 10 points (82-74).

"We started getting stops in the second half," Paul said.

Paul sank two 3-point shots in the fourth quarter during a 13-5 run. Gerald Green made a 3 at the top of the key to tie the game at 87 with 7:06 on the game clock.

The game was tied 3 more times over the next four minutes. With the score tied at 95, Harden went to work. After missing 4 straight three-point shots, Harden nailed a three to put Houston ahead 98-95. Then, after Orlando's Terrence Ross missed a three; Harden drove toward the hoop; stopped on a dime; then, stepped back to drain a 17-foot jumper for 100-95 lead with 30.5 seconds remaining.

Next, after an Orlando timeout, Harden blocked Evan Fournier's lay-up attempt which forced the Magic to foul Chris Paul. Paul made both free throws for a 102-95 lead with just 13.6 seconds remaining.

Orlando's Aaron Gordon swished a three-point shot with 6 seconds on the clock. Orlando fouled Harden. Harden missed the first free throw then made the second foul shot for the final score.

James Harden scored a game-high 40 points to extend his streak of scoring 30 or more to 23 games (4th longest in NBA history).

Harden also had 11 rebounds, a steal, and a season-high 3 blocks tonight. In the 13 games this month, he is averaging 8.5 rebounds, 1.92 steals and 1.23 blocks.

"We didn't get off to a great start; but, we just kept fighting, especially in that second half," Harden commented. "We did a really, really good job of locking in our defense. I think we gave up 30-something points in that second half total. So, it's pretty good overall defensively."

Chris Paul finished the game with 12 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals. It's the 12th time Paul has recorded at least 10 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals as a Rocket; Houston is 12-0 in those games.

NOTES:

The last time a player scored 40 or more points at least 18 times within their first 46 games played in a season was Michael Jordan with 22 in 1986-87.

Kenneth Faried had 12 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high tying 5 assists with 2 steals tonight. It's his second straight double-double. In four games as a Rocket (Houston 3-1 mark), Faried is averaging 14.3 points per game, 9.5 rebounds per game, 1.5 assists per game, 1.25 steals per game and 1.25 blocks per game in 30.8 minutes per game.

NEXT:

The Rockets' next game is Tuesday, January 29, versus the New Orleans Pelicans. Tip is set for 7 p.m.

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