ORLANDO, Fla. _ The Orlando Magic played superb defense against James Harden and played solid defense overall against the high-powered Houston Rockets on Friday night.
It still wasn't good enough.
The Magic's offense went cold in the fourth quarter as the Magic lost to the Rockets, 100-93, in front of an announced crowd of 19,272 people, the fourth-largest crowd in Amway Center history.
The Rockets went 15-for-49 from 3-point range, the most 3-pointers ever attempted by a Magic opponent.
Former Magic power forward Ryan Anderson inflicted most of that damage, scoring 15 of his team-high 19 points from beyond the arc.
Harden added 14 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists.
D.J. Augustin led all Magic players with 19 points, but 16 of those points came in the second quarter. And Aaron Gordon, who guarded Harden effectively, added 18 points, six rebounds and a career-high seven assists.
In the fourth quarter, the Magic made just eight of their 20 shot attempts and turned the ball over five times.
Houston (29-9) played on the second night of a brutal back-to-back.
On Thursday night, the Rockets defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in Houston in a game that went to the final seconds. Then, the Rockets traveled to Orlando and lost an hour as they went from the Central Time Zone to the Eastern Time Zone.
You would have thought the Rockets would play sluggishly, and they did need a jolt of energy early on.
They received that energy boost from their bench, especially from Sam Dekker, who gathered four offensive rebounds in the first half. Dekker swooped in to gather his fourth offensive board midway through the second quarter and passed to Patrick Beverley in the right corner. Beverley then sank a 3-pointer, prompting Magic coach Frank Vogel to call a timeout.
Beverley's trey put Houston ahead, 36-28 _ Houston's largest lead of the first half.
Orlando responded, thanks to Augustin, who recently lost his starting job to Elfrid Payton.
Augustin took a charge on Corey Brewer early in the second quarter, and on the Magic's ensuing possession, Augustin drained a 3-pointer.
He was only getting started.
Augustin scored a total of 16 points in the quarter _ the most points in a quarter by any Magic player this season.
Orlando led 52-44 at halftime.
The third quarter started in disastrous fashion for the Magic (16-22).
After Evan Fournier made one of two free throws, then Anderson, Trevor Ariza and Anderson made 3-pointers on consecutive Houston possessions to tie the score 53-53. Then, after an airball by Gordon, the Rockets received a three-point play by Montrezl Harrell.
Anderson, who played three seasons for the Magic, bedeviled his old team Friday. He sank five 3-pointers in the third quarter, and his fifth trey of the quarter extended the Rockets' lead to 77-72.
The game was an important one for the Magic, who opened the night trailing the Chicago Bulls by 2{ games for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.
On Saturday, the Magic will begin an 11-day road trip in which they will play against the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz, Denver Nuggets and New Orleans Pelicans.
The Magic wanted to have some momentum on their side at the start of the trip by beating the Rockets on Friday night.
Gordon did his part.
He did a superb job guarding Harden, an MVP candidate.
Harden started the night averaging 10.4 free-throw attempts per game. But Gordon and his Magic teammates played disciplined defense and held Harden to six tries from the foul line.
It still wasn't good enough.
Not after the Magic's streaky offense went cold when it mattered most.
