The Houston Rockets didn’t get their first lead of the game until there were just four minutes left in the fourth quarter, but they got 40 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 blocks from James Harden, who had a three, a block, and a vicious step-back jumper down the stretch to close out a 103-98 win over the Orlando Magic.
For a while, however, it looked like this would be an ugly Houston loss. The Rockets were down 34-18 after one period, with a non-existent defense and no one scoring outside of The Beard, who had 15 of Houston’s 18 in the quarter.