Rockets explode offensively, annihilate Magic at home

Photo courtesy of Michael Wyke/Associated Press

Professional basketball can be a very fickle thing--some nights, a team can't get anything to work, and other times, everything aimed at the rim goes in. Tonight was one of the latter nights.

An all-around amazing performance by the Houston Rockets helped the team to end a two-game skid and demolish the Orlando Magic at home on Friday night, by a whopping score of 132-90.

Not much to complain about in this game. Everything was working for the Houston Rockets on both sides of the ball, to an almost unnatural degree. After losing two tight games to playoff-caliber teams, the Rockets detonated on offense and locked it down on defense on a night to remember.

The first quarter was fairly lopsided--Houston led 32-17 after one. The second quarter, a 30-16 affair in favor of the Rockets, was even better. Houston led at the half 62-33, nearly thirty-balling the Magic through 24 minutes of play.

The discrepancy between the two teams was very much prevalent. Houston held Orlando to a mere 28.6% from the field shooting in the first half, and a horrid 1-12 from three. Nikola Vucevic was the only player for the Magic in double figures. Meanwhile, Houston shot over 53% from the field in the first half, to go along with a scorching 47.8% from deep.

What helped the Rockets were a few key returns to the roster. After missing Wednesday's game in Indiana, Christian Wood returned to post a dominant stat line, in what's becoming a common theme for him. Wood finished with 22 points and 15 rebounds, dominating the paint.

Sharpshooter Ben McLemore also made his season debut today, picking right back up from where he left off in the bubble. He went 5-6 from the field with 15 points, including a perfect 5-5 from three.

Another quiet offensive night from Harden--15 points and 13 assists--didn't even matter in the blowout, as all 13 players that entered for the Rockets during the contest scored at least two points, more than enough to handle the short-handed Magic.

The win moves the Rockets to 3-4 on the year. Houston will have a tall task awaiting them in the coming days, however, as they'll be set to face the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers two times in a row on Sunday and Tuesday. It will be Houston's first time facing the Lake Show since L.A. eliminated Houston in the second round in the playoffs on their way to a championship in 2020.