National Basketball Association
Houston 116, Orlando 98
When: 7:00 PM ET, Wednesday, January 3, 2018
Where: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Officials: #61 Courtney Kirkland, #33 Sean Corbin, #52 Scott Twardoski
Attendance: 18588
Playing without James Harden for the first time since the star guard injured his hamstring, the Houston Rockets trounced the lowly Orlando Magic 116-98 on Wednesday at the Amway Center in Orlando, Fla.

Harden was injured Sunday in Houston's double-overtime victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. He could be out of the lineup for anywhere from two to six weeks.

Playing in only his fourth game of the season, veteran Gerald Green helped pick up the slack. He produced a season-high 27 points and six rebounds and made 7 of 10 3-point tries for the Rockets, who connected on 15 of 34 tries from behind the 3-point arc.

Clint Capela finished with 21 points and eight rebounds for Houston.

Aaron Gordon led Orlando with 16 points.

The Rockets (27-9) couldn't have found themselves a much better opponent than the Magic to figure out how they will get by without Harden, who is averaging 32 points, nine assists and five rebounds per game this season. Orlando lost for the 12th time in 13 games to fall to 12-27 overall.

This one was never close as Houston raced out to a 25-12 lead after a quarter thanks to a horrid shooting performance by the Magic. The team's top scorers, Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier, combined to make 9 of 34 tries from the field for Orlando, which shot 38.5 percent from the floor.

The Rockets stretched their lead to 23 points by the end of the third quarter despite off-shooting nights from Chris Paul and Eric Gordon. Paul had 13 assists and seven rebounds but only scored eight points as he missed 10 of 13 shots. Eric Gordon finished with 17 points but made only 5 of 16 field-goal attempts.

Ryan Anderson had 17 points and seven rebounds in the win. Nene Hilario chipped in 10 points in 14 minutes off the bench for Houston.

Elfrid Payton and Mario Hezonja scored 14 points each in the losing effort.

-- Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Houston   Orlando
Gerald Green 27 Scoring Aaron Gordon 16
Chris Paul 13 Assists Shelvin Mack 7
Clint Capela 8 Rebounds Mario Hezonja 9
Clint Capela 5 Free Throws Made Evan Fournier 6
Eric Gordon 2 Steals Elfrid Payton 5
Clint Capela 2 Blocks Evan Fournier 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Houston 116 47.2 15-34 17-21 25 51 3 6 16
Orlando 98 38.5 6-31 22-25 16 48 3 7 12
Upcoming Games
  • Orlando will play their next game at home against Cleveland. The Magic have a W/L % of .333 after a win and .296 after a loss.
  • Houston will play their next game at home against Golden State. The Rockets have a W/L % of .846 after a win and .500 after a loss.