Magic beat on board in loss at Rockets
Published in Basketball
In what was expected to be a scrappy, defensive-minded contest, the Orlando Magic were edged out by the Houston Rockets in dominant fashion Monday night.
Led by Jabari Smith Jr.’s 20 points, who had help from four other double-digit scorers, Houston won its third straight, 97-84, against Orlando at Toyota Center.
The Magic’s 84 points were the third fewest scored by the team this season when they shot 25% (8 of 32) from 3-point range in the 13-point loss.
Houston (40-25) opened the third on a 12-5 run and never looked back in a contest that only saw four lead changes despite 25 points from Magic forward Paolo Banchero.
Following two days off due to a previous in-season schedule change, the Magic (30-36) continue their five-game trip at New Orleans on Thursday.
Difference on the glass
The Rockets lead the league in rebounds (48.1), offensive rebounds (14.6) and second-chance points (17.8) and that showed Monday night.
Houston outrebounded Orlando 63-42 and grabbed 20 offensive boards, which marked a season-high allowed by the Magic. Those extra opportunities led to 19 second-chance points.
The charge on the glass was led by veteran Steven Adams, who recorded a double-double by way of 11 points in the first half alone.
Whether it was Goga Bitadze, Wendell Carter Jr. or Jonathan Isaac, the 6-11 Adams had the advantage. Of his 17 total rebounds, 11 came on offense.
Orlando fell to 6-25 when its outrebounded by its opponent.
Turnovers and takeaways
Despite Houston’s dominance on the glass, Orlando was able to turn defense into offense throughout most of the night. But the group left points on the board.
In total, the Magic scored 20 points off 20 Houston turnovers.
But 17 of those turnovers and 16 points were scored in the first three quarters.
Bench points
Usually a strength of Orlando’s — the team averages 36.3 points from their reserves — the Magic only received 27 from its bench.
No member of the second unit scored in double figures for Mosley, who ultimately used eight players off the bench.
Houston, which only used three reserves majority of the night before emptying its bench in the final minutes, saw its bench total 25.
Rookie watch
It was a quiet night Tristan da Silva, who missed all three attempts from beyond the arc.
The No. 18 pick was held scoreless with one rebound in eight limited minutes.
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