Rockets 98, Magic 88: James Harden recorded 27 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds as Houston handed visiting Orlando its fifth consecutive defeat.

Dwight Howard contributed 20 points and 22 rebounds on his 28th birthday for the Rockets, who held the Magic to 34.4 percent shooting from the floor. Chandler Parsons chipped in with 18 points while Terrence Jones added 16 points and 13 rebounds for Houston.

Glen Davis led the way with 18 points and Arron Afflalo recorded 16 for the Magic, who have dropped 12 of their last 15 contests. Jameer Nelson, playing his 600th career game, added 15 points while E’Twaun Moore had 12 and Andrew Nicholson scored 11 for Orlando.

Orlando scored nine of the first 11 points in the game before the Rockets drained seven of their 11 attempts from 3-point range in the first quarter for 28-18 lead. Harden finished with 14 points and the Magic shot only 27.7 percent in the opening half as the Rockets cashed in for a 52-38 edge at intermission.

Harden scored 11 more in the third quarter and Jones added 10, including a three-point play in the final seconds that gave Houston 83-61 lead. Orlando put together a 10-1 run to get within 10 points after Nelson's 3-pointer with 5:58 left, but the Magic could not get any closer.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Rockets dominated Orlando on the boards 60-43 and blocked 10 shots – led by five from Jones. … Orlando C Nikola Vucevic missed his third straight game with an ankle injury and Houston G Jeremy Lin (knee) was held out for the sixth contest in a row, but could return Thursday at Portland. … The Rockets turned the ball over 20 times and missed 18 free throws, but won for the eighth time in the last nine home games.
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