Magic Musings: Another big night from Victor Oladipo, another late slip-up
Despite getting 29 points from Victor Oladipo, the Orlando Magic lost their 11th consecutive road game Tuesday night as the Houston Rockets used a strong fourth quarter to pull away to a 107-94 victory.
The Rockets made 10 of their 16 shots over the final 12 minutes to prevail on a night where James Harden, the NBA's second-leading scorer, managed only 17 points. But five of his teammates finished in double figures to keep the Magic winless away from home since their 121-114 victory Jan. 12 at Chicago.
The loss was the third in loss in a week where the Magic appeared to be in control during the third quarter. They led 78-71 with less than a minute to go in the period before back-to-back 3-pointers by Josh Smith, the second of which was banked in at the buzzer, brought the Rockets back into contention.
Oladipo, who was averaging 20.6 points a game since the All-Star break, outplayed Harden for the vast majority of the game. But the Magic were hampered by the absence of Tobias Harris, who sprained his left ankle in the first half and was unavailable down the stretch.
Nikola Vucevic was held to 11 points on 5-of-17 shooting for the Magic, who went with a three-guard lineup of Oladipo, Elfrid Payton and Luke Ridnour for much of the fourth quarter. Their second-leading scorer ended up being Ben Gordon, who finished with 13 points.
Former Magic center Dwight Howard missed his 23rd consecutive game due to an injury to his right knee.
THE TURNING POINT
Down only 94-92 after a scoop shot by Oladipo with 4:42 remaining, the Magic saw the Rockets score 13 straight points over the next four minutes. The run included 3-pointers by Patrick Beverley, Corey Brewer and Harden.
THE DIFFERENCE MAKER
Brewer, the former Florida star acquired in December from the Minnesota Timberwolves, had 13 points and a game-high 12 rebounds off the bench.
STAT OF THE GAME
Gordon had not played in the previous three games and had scored a total of 22 points since Jan. 31 before his 11-point first half.
WHAT'S NEXT
Wednesday night at Dallas, 8 p.m.
You can follow Ken Hornack on Twitter @HornackFSFla or email him at khornack32176@gmail.com.
