After posting its most impressive victory of the season, the Orlando Magic look to carry the momentum into Wednesday’s matchup with the visiting Houston Rockets.
Orlando ended the Cleveland Cavaliers’ franchise-record 16-game winning streak with a 108-103 road victory on Sunday. The loss was just the fifth at home for the Cavaliers, who boast the NBA’s best record.
The Magic face another tough challenge against Houston (44-25), which extended its season-best winning streak to seven games on Monday with a 144-137 overtime victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Orlando (32-37) concluded a five-game, nine-day road trip by outscoring Cleveland 61-43 in the second half of Sunday’s victory. Paolo Banchero scored 24 points and Franz Wagner added 22 to lead the Magic.
“It’s a big win,” Banchero said. “Last game of the road trip. We knew this was going to be probably the toughest game coming in here on national TV against one of the better teams in the league also on a winning streak. So, big win.”
Wendell Carter Jr. recorded his ninth double-double of the season with 16 points and 14 rebounds for Orlando, which holds eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings.
Carter played a key role on both ends of the floor for the Magic, who held Cleveland to 36.4 percent shooting from the field and 26.1 percent (6 of 23) from 3-point range in the second half.
“Our defense was great,” Banchero said. “We were getting to their shooters, flying around, covering for each other. Then on offense, we just made enough plays, trusted each other, guys stepped up when they were called on to make big shots after big shots. It was a full team effort.”
Orlando is monitoring the status of guard Cole Anthony, who exited Sunday’s game in the first quarter with a left big toe strain and did not return.
The Magic are seeking to even the season series against the Rockets after losing 97-84 in Houston on March 10.
The Rockets kept their share of second place in the Western Conference with their dramatic win over Philadelphia on Monday.
Jabari Smith Jr. scored a season-high 30 points off the bench and Jalen Green added 30 points with a career-high 13 assists for Houston, which rallied from a 25-point deficit.
“Jabari was huge,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “Obviously, too many contributions to talk about across the board, but he was big. And then (Alperen Sengun) coming in, playing when he didn’t play most of the second half. So Jabari was right there with everybody, but across the board, it was a great job by everybody. Very resilient win.”
Green has scored at least 20 points in four straight games for the Rockets, who play eight of their final 13 games on the road.
Houston guard Amen Thompson, who will miss his sixth straight game on Wednesday with a sprained left ankle, could return as soon as Friday against the Miami Heat.
With Thompson sidelined, the Rockets have turned in a series of strong performances. That trend continued Monday when they matched the largest comeback win in franchise history against the Sixers.
“Whether we lose or win, we finna try to put a good effort out here and try to show some fight. We ain’t finna lay down,” Smith said. “So we just kept fighting. Buckets started to come our way, and shots started to fall. We got some energy and some juice.”
–Field Level Media
