Orlando Magic lose on the road to the Houston Rockets, 97-84

Orlando Magic lose to Houston Rockets score summary / Headline SurferYouTube download / BELOW: NBA video game highlights of the Orlando Magic's loss to the Houston Rockets, 97-84, on Wednesday, March 10, 2025.

By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer

HOUSTON -- The Orlando Magic came up short Monday on the road to the Houston Rockets, 97-84, in NBA action.

Forward Paolo Banchero led the Magic with 36 points in a losing effort. Franz Wagner had 34 points, and center Webdell Carter, Jr. added 30 points, along with a team-high 12 rebounds, but it wasn't enough to hold off the Rockets.

Houston center Alperen Şengün led all scorers with 38 points. Steven Adams had 17 boards along with 23 points in the winning effort.

With the loss, Orlando falls to 30-36 in the Eastern Conference, and Houston now stands at 40-25 in the West.

It was the Rockets’ duo of Alperen Sengun and Steven Adams who did most of the heavy lifting to secure the win at home. 

Scoring Summary

The Magic gave up 63 total rebounds -  20 of them on the offensive side - the most by Orlando this season.

“That was the game right there, essentially,” Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley said. “We turned them over. We got out (to run) a little bit, but 20 offensive rebounds is very difficult to overcome in a game like this.” 

“That was the game right there, essentially,” Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley said. “We turned them over. We got out (to run) a little bit, but 20 offensive rebounds is very difficult to overcome in a game like this.” 

Paolo Banchero's 25 points marked his seventh consecutive game with at least 20. With Wagner's 15, they were the only two Orlando players to finish in double figures. 

The Magic will look to bounce back at 8 pm ET Thursday when they visit the New Orleans Pelicans.

Henry Frederick press card / Headline SurferAbout the Byline Writer:

Henry Frederick is an award-winning journalist who launched Headline Surfer in 2008, which serves greater Daytona Beach, Sanford & Orlando via HeadlineSurfer.com in Lake Mary, Florida. Frederick earned his Master of Arts in New Media Journalism from Full Sail University in Orlando. He was a breaking news reporter (metro cops & courts beat) for the Daytona Beach News-Journal for nearly a decade, and before that, the same beat with The Journal-News/Gannett Suburban Newspapers in Rockland/Westchester counties, NY, dating back to 1989. Having witnessed the execution of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Florida's death chamber and covering other high profile cases, Frederick has appeared on national crime documentary shows on Discovery ID, Reelz, and the Oxygen Network series "Snapped" for his analysis. •  Bio: https://henryfrederick.com/