ORLANDO, Fla. _ The Magic had Evan Fournier, which on some nights might have been enough.
The Houston Rockets, meanwhile, had James Harden, which on most nights is more than enough.
Friday was one of those nights for the Rockets and Harden, who showed once again why he's the NBA's premier scorer.
Harden had 54 points in 36 minutes on 19-of-31 shooting as Houston defeated Orlando, 130-107, on Friday night at Amway Center.
It was Harden's second consecutive 50-point game.
Russell Westbrook added 23 points for the Rockets (17-8), and Fournier finished with 27.
Fournier has been shouldering the scoring load for the Magic (11-14). He did it once again against Houston. Fournier did his best to trade baskets with Harden and he also drew the assignment of guarding Harden.
It seemed Fournier ran out of gas late in the game as the Rockets pulled away midway through the fourth quarter.
In the second quarter, Fournier and Harden went back and forth.
Fournier had 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including making four 3-point baskets. But those 3s paled in comparison to the show Harden put on in the second period.
Harden had 18 points and drew oohs and aahs from the crowd after making several deep 3-pointers. With 30 seconds remaining in the period, Harden, with Fournier matched up on him, stepped back and drained a 31-foot triple.
The Rockets led 62-55 at the break. The lead expanded to 18 at the end of three quarters as Houston led 96-78.
Orlando guard Terrance Ross earned a four-point play to trim Houston's lead to nine, 102-93, with 7:51 remaining. However, Harden delivered a momentum-swinging sequence after Ross cut the lead to single digits.
Harden made a layup, got a steal and then hit another 3-pointer to give Houston a 107-93 lead with 7:04 left to play.
The Magic were without starting center Nikolas Vucevic once again. Vucevic missed his 11th consecutive game due to an ankle injury. He has not played since sustaining the bone bruise on Nov. 20 against the Toronto Raptors. Vucevic has participated in practice and shoot-around this week. Magic coach Steve Clifford said prior to Friday's game there's a good chance Vucevic will play on Sunday against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Markelle Fultz returned to the lineup against the Rockets after he missed the loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday due to a stomach virus. Fultz was a game-time decision after missing practice on Thursday and going through shoot-around prior to Friday's game.
Fultz finished with five points and five assists in 21 minutes.
The Magic begin a four-game road trip on Sunday against New Orleans.
