NBA

Orlando Magic at Houston Rockets

· National Basketball Association
30-36, 12-20 Away
Final
84 - 97

40-25, 22-10 Home

Jabari Smith Jr. stars as the Rockets beat the Magic 97-84 for 3rd straight win

Franz Wagner feeds Paolo Banchero for alley-oop slam

Alperen Sengun had 14 points and 14 rebounds for Houston, and Steven Adams finished with 11 points and 17 boards.

Paolo Banchero led Orlando with 25 points. Franz Wagner had 15 points, and Wendell Carter Jr. grabbed 12 rebounds.

The Magic closed to 65-58 on Wagner's layup with 5:04 left in the third quarter. But Jeff Green and Dillon Brooks made consecutive 3-pointers to make it 71-58 with 2:47 to go.

Banchero made two free throws, but the Rockets scored the next four points. Aaron Holiday's 3-pointer made it 75-60 with 26 seconds to go.

Brooks finished with 17 points.

Takeaways Magic: Orlando was unable to build on its win over Milwaukee, which snapped a five-game skid. It dropped 10-22 since Jan. 1.

Rockets: Houston used a balanced scoring attack to help make up for starters Amen Thompson and Fred VanVleet sitting out with ankle injuries.

Key moment Brooks and Sengun each made a 3 to help the Rockets open a 95-77 lead with 3:01 left.

Key stat The Rockets made 16 3-pointers, compared to just eight by Orlando.

Up next Houston hosts Phoenix on Wednesday night, and Orlando visits New Orleans on Thursday night.

Regular Season Series

HOU leads series 1-0

Recent Plays

4th 0.0 End of Game 84 - 97
4th 0.0 End of the 4th Quarter 84 - 97
4th 11.1 Cam Whitmore defensive rebound 84 - 97
4th 11.2 Jett Howard misses driving layup 84 - 97
4th 19.1 Jett Howard defensive rebound 84 - 97

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/orl.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originORL https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/hou.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originHOU
28-86 FG 35-89
32.6 Field Goal % 39.3
8-32 3PT 16-43
25.0 Three Point % 37.2
20-24 FT 11-18
83.3 Free Throw % 61.1
42 Rebounds 63
13 Offensive Rebounds 20
29 Defensive Rebounds 43
15 Assists 20
10 Steals 4
5 Blocks 4
8 Turnovers 19
1 Team Turnovers 1
9 Total Turnovers 20
0 Technical Fouls 0
0 Total Technical Fouls 0
0 Flagrant Fouls 0
4 Points Conceded Off Turnovers 20
10 Fast Break Points 5
36 Points in Paint 28
19 Fouls 18
9 Largest Lead 18
Houston Rockets Houston Rockets Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Reed Sheppard, G Day-To-Day Jul 21
Dorian Finney-Smith, PF Day-To-Day Jul 3
Kevin Durant, PF Day-To-Day Jul 3
Orlando Magic Orlando Magic Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Moritz Wagner, C Day-To-Day Jul 23
Jase Richardson, G Day-To-Day Jul 19
Noah Penda, F Day-To-Day Jul 19
Jalen Suggs, SG Day-To-Day Jul 3

Game Information

Toyota Center (Houston)

Location: Houston, TX
Attendance: 16,665 · Capacity:

2025-26 Southeast Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Atlanta 0 0 .000 - -
Miami 0 0 .000 - -
Orlando 0 0 .000 - -
Washington 0 0 .000 - -
Charlotte 0 0 .000 - -

2025-26 Southwest Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
New Orleans 0 0 .000 - -
Dallas 0 0 .000 - -
Houston 0 0 .000 - -
San Antonio 0 0 .000 - -
Memphis 0 0 .000 - -
Full Standings

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