The Orlando Magic eventually defeated the Houston Rockets 123-119 at State Farm Arena in Hidalgo, Texas. It was a slow burn to get to that point. The Magic had to recover from a terrible, terrible start.
The lackluster first quarter was what the coaching staff will latch onto. That kind of struggle is something that the coaching staff has been working hard to to eliminate. It is going to cost the team wins once the regular season starts.
Houston scored 37 points in the first quarter, making seven of 14 3-pointers in the process. Orlando committed six of its 16 turnovers in the first quarter and just looked slow and a step behind throughout the quarter.