Orlando Magic rout Houston Rockets 110-95 after third quarter surge
Whether the refurbished roster of the Eastern Conference giants, Orlando Magic, is good enough to win the Championship this season remains to be seen.
What has become evident though is that the team, now boasting an array of prolific parameter shooters and blue collared players, can certainly keep its composure in Dwight Howard’s absence. On Friday night against the Houston Rockets, Howard was embroiled
in early foul trouble paving the way to his exit for nearly 10 minutes. The Magic however, still had enough firepower to outwit the Rockets 110-95, as they romped to their season-best winning streak of eight games.
All the Magic starters notched up double figures. Brendon Bass and Jason Richardson spearheaded the charge with 18 points each, while Ryan Anderson stormed off the bench to notch up 16 points.
The Rockets were led by Kevin Martin again. A night after pounding 45 points in a losing cause against the Portland Trail Blazers; the dazzling shooting guard posted 27 points. His endeavours though, were not enough as Orlando cast a spell on Houston in
the third period of play, to send them crashing to their fourth consecutive loss.
Dwight Howard was at the centre of Houston’s plans going into the match. The Rockets guarded the imposing centre with 6ft 10in Grant Hill and Lois Scola. The move clicked instantly as Houston thundered off to a rollicking start. The Houston offence completely
outran the Magic back-line in the first five minutes of play and raced away to a 16-5 lead.
The Magic though, settled into their groove immediately, and slowly started to chip away at the visitors’ advantage. Jason Richardson in particular was on fire in the first twelve minutes, and his two consecutive shot near the end of the frame gave the Magic
a 27-26 lead. For the Rockets, Martin and Scola had a great first quarter, scoring 11 and 12 points respectively.
The fast-paced match swung back and forth going into the second quarter as well. The lead changed hands 10 times within the first nine minutes of the second frame, before Orlando Magic pulled away with a nine-point unanswered run. Martin however, slashed
Houston’s deficit by four points, as he scored two straight buckets going into the break.
The Magic ended the hard fought first half with a 53-50 advantage. They had it tough in the second quarter though, with Howard exiting early after committing three personal fouls. The big man returned at the start of the third and the results were immediate.
He completely clogged the centre court, forcing the Houston forwards on the perimeter. The aggressive play from the prolific centre, completely took Houston by surprise and after shooting at 50 percent in the first half, their offence froze in the third quarter.
The Magic took full advantage of the situation and rattled a 17-0 spurt to spring into a 74-55 advantage, with five and a half minutes left to play in the third frame. They never looked back.
The Magic took a 92-71 advantage into the final quarter, and even though the Rockets reeled off an early 8-2 run, the home team was never threatened as they breezed to a 110-95 win.
Houston Coach Rick Adelman highlighted Houston’s third quarter struggle as the main reason for the defeat. He said, "We fell apart in the third quarter. We struggled offensively; we just gave in at the other end. We gave up 39 points, that's not going to
do it on the road."
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