Kevin Durant scored 40 points on Thursday night to help the visiting Houston Rockets rally for a 113-108 victory over the Orlando Magic.
Reed Sheppard added 20 points and made five 3-pointers for Houston, which trailed by 19 points in the third quarter before going on a 21-0 run to help spur the comeback win. Alperen Sengun had 16 points and Jabari Smith Jr. scored 13 for the Rockets, who won their third straight game.
Desmond Bane led Orlando with 30 points, while Paolo Banchero totaled 19 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. Wendell Carter Jr. scored 16 and Jevon Carter finished with 14 in the loss.
Holding a 10-point halftime lead, Orlando extended the margin to 15 on Tristan da Silva’s triple at the 5:42 mark of the third. After Banchero’s four straight points extended the lead to 19, Sheppard hit three 3-pointers in the midst of a 21-0 Houston run, giving the Rockets a 78-76 edge.
Josh Okogie finished the third with a trey to give the visitors an 81-80 lead ahead of the final quarter.
Bane’s consecutive baskets gave Orlando a five-point cushion with 6:33 left in the fourth, before Durant’s personal 5-0 run knotted the score at 97 apiece.
After Carter split a pair of free throws to put Orlando ahead by a point with 3:23 remaining, Sengun’s consecutive layups and Sheppard’s fourth triple gave Houston a 106-100 advantage at the 1:53 mark.
Orlando had a chance to trim its deficit to one possession, but Anthony Black’s turnover was followed by Sheppard’s game-sealing 3-pointer with 22.7 seconds left.
After Sheppard’s jumper gave Houston a 20-19 lead, the Magic finished the opening quarter on a 10-2 run, with Bane’s 3-pointer giving Orlando a 29-22 edge entering the second.
The Rockets missed their first four shots from behind the arc, before Dorian Finney-Smith’s triple cut Houston’s deficit to four with 11:01 left in the first half.
Durant’s floater pulled the Rockets within four again, but Banchero’s three-point play began an 8-0 Magic run to put them ahead 45-33.
Bane connected on all five of his 3-point attempts in the first half, leading all scorers with 17 points. Durant scored the last eight points of the half for Houston, which trailed 53-43 at the break.
–Field Level Media
