NBA on Jan. 13: Magic claim two back-to-back victories

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Five home teams lost in the 2018-19 NBA regular season on Sunday. A total of 14 teams clashed.

The Orlando Magic, as one of the two exceptions, defeated the Houston Rockets 116-109 less than 24 hours after they dropped the Boston Celtics.

Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors conquered the American Airlines Center by beating the Dallas Mavericks 119-114, thanks to Stephen Curry's 11 three-pointers.

Magic claim victory with three straight three-pointer

Evan Fournier #10 of the Orlando Magic yells after making the three-pointer that helps his team gain the lead over the Houston Rockets before winning the game 116-109, January 13, 2019. /VCG Photo

Orlando's Aaron Gordon dropped 22 points, eight rebounds and five assists. The team's center Nikola Vucevic also scored 22 points plus nine rebounds and six assists. Evan Fournier scored 19 points while Terrence Ross from the bench scored 17.

Houston's James Harden racked up 38 points, nine rebounds and 12 assists, missing only one rebound for triple-double. Austin Rivers delivered remarkable efficiency of 71.4 percent (10/14) for a field goal and 57.1 percent for 3-pt (4/7) which brought him 25 points. Clint Capela took another double-double of 17 points and ten rebounds.

James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets makes floater in the game against the Magic, January 13, 2019. /VCG Photo

Considering that the Rockets took a day off on Saturday while the Magic claimed an upset win over the Celtics after a tough game and the fact that the Rockets were the better team, it's only natural to expect another easy win for them. The followed a similar scenario for most of the time as Houston held a leading advantage that fluctuated between four to 10.

Things began to change in the last five minutes. After Harden made two free throws to again expand the Rockets' lead to seven (105-98), Orlando soon launched a 16-2 scoring run marked by three consecutive three-pointers made by respectively Ross, Fournier and D.J. Augustin. Though the Rockets then still had one minute and 21 seconds to catch up, Harden missed two thee-pt shots and only made two free throws, failing to help his team turn the situation.

Players of the Magic (blue) defends Harden #13 in the paint in the game, January 13, 2019. /VCG Photo

The last two missed three-pointer was only a miniature of his struggling outside the three-pt line. Harden missed 16 of his 17 attempts for three-ball, thanks to the Magic's defense style of sealing off the paint and the three-pt line. Though he managed to score 35 points via free throws, rare floaters and perimeter shots, it won't be easy for him to earn many free throws or drop points in ways he's not used to in the more physical playoffs. After all, the Rockets lost Game seven of the Western Conference last season because they missed 27 straight three-pointers in that game.

Stephen Curry makes 11 three-pointer…for the 7th time

Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors shoots a three-pointer in the game that they defeat the Dallas Mavericks 119-114, January 13, 2019. /VCG Photo

GSW's Stephen Curry dropped 48 points, his second-best scoring performance this season thanks to the 11 three-pointers he made. This was the 7th time for Curry to present such an incredible shooting performance in his career. By contrast, other players in total had eight in NBA history. Kevin Durant recorded 28 points while Klay Thompson added 16 for the team.

One-year rookie Luka Doncic again scored the highest 26 points for Dallas while getting six rebounds and five assists. Harrison Barnes scored 22 points against his old teammates. DeAndre Jordon took another triple-double of 13 points and 14 rebounds.

Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks handles the ball in the game against the Warriors, January 13, 2019. /VCG Photo

Without J.J. Barea, the Mavericks did not seem to fear the Warriors at all to make the game an open shooting contest. Under the instructions of their head coach Rick Carlisle, the team did as well as GSW in ball movement and finding open shots-Dallas made 16 three-pointers with a three-pt rate of 42.11 percent, not outshined by Golden State's 19 three-pointers made with a 42.22 percent rate.

More importantly, when team play was not enough, the Mavericks already had their solution: 19-year-old Doncic. Besides his 50 percent three-pt rate (5/10), Doncic could make a play through his NBA-level isolation skills and an even better understanding of the game which was reflected in passing, penetrating and moving on the court.

Curry #30 of the Warriors shoots another three-pointer before he makes 11 of such shots in the game against the Mavericks, January 13, 2019. /VCG Photo

The Warriors, like they often did this season, failed to maintain 100 percent focus on the court, especially in defense, which explained why they could not turn the game into a foregone conclusion in the first three quarters as well as why they trailed in the last six minutes. Fortunately, GSW had Curry to save them. Golden State trailed by two (112-114) when there less than two minutes to go in the last quarter. Curry first tied the score with a floater in early offense and then made his 11th three-pointer to help the Warriors regain the lead (117-114) before making the last two victory-sealing free throws.

Sunday's other games included: (away teams come first)

Philadelphia 76ers 108-105 New York Knicks

Toronto Raptors 140-138 Washington Wizards

Milwaukee Bucks 133-114 Atlanta Hawks

Portland Trail Blazers 113-116 Denver Nuggets

Cleveland Cavaliers 101-95 Los Angeles Lakers