Houston Rockets (37-21) beat Orlando Magic (31-27) 113-108 on the road on Thursday, February 26, after falling far behind. The Rockets were down 10 at one quarter break and still finished 5 ahead.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Magic struck first, taking the opening quarter 29-22 and a 7-point lead after one. The Magic kept the pressure on with a 24-21 second quarter, carrying a 10-point lead into halftime.
The Rockets won the third 38-27 to turn the game around, taking a 1-point lead into the fourth. The Rockets took the fourth 32-28; the Rockets finished the job for a 113-108 regulation win.
What flipped it
The Rockets got more from their shots, finishing at 59.1% effective field-goal shooting compared with 54% for the Magic. The Rockets made 19.5 free throws per 100 field-goal attempts, compared with 14.8 for the Magic. In a 5-point game, that shooting gap supplied the clearest edge.
The Magic did win one battle, ball security: TOV% of 11.8 against 13.9. The Rockets made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 94 possessions per team, the Rockets produced 120.8 points per 100 possessions to 115.5 for the Magic.
Who carried the comeback
Kevin Durant was the game's biggest individual force for HOU: 40 pts, 8 reb, 3 ast on 14-28 shooting. His Game Score of 30.9 led everyone. His team was +10 with him on the floor.
Desmond Bane led the Magic with 30 pts, 6 reb, 4 ast on 12-19 shooting, good for a 26.7 Game Score.
What it means
The pre-game Win Meter had it close to a coin flip, at about 51% for the Rockets.
Across the last 3 meetings in our records, Houston Rockets lead 3-0.
The Rockets are now 37-21, and the Magic are 31-27. The Rockets last five before this game: L-W-L-W-W.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.