Rockets 107, Magic 94: Donatas Motiejunas scored 23 points and Trevor Ariza had 17 points, five rebounds and five assists as host Houston slipped past Orlando.

James Harden added 17 points and eight rebounds and Josh Smith also had 17 points off the bench as the Rockets moved into a virtual tie with the Portland Trail Blazers for third place in the Western Conference. Corey Brewer had 13 points and 12 rebounds for his second double-double of the season, and Patrick Beverley contributed 12 points and seven assists for Houston.

Victor Oladipo had 29 points and four steals for the Magic, who have lost five straight games and nine of their past 11. Ben Gordon scored 13 points, Nikola Vucevic added 11 points and 11 rebounds and Elfrid Payton added 10 points and seven assists.

The Magic trailed 94-92 after Oladipo’s basket with 4:41 remaining before Beverley and Brewer answered with back-to-back 3-pointers to make it an eight-point margin with 3:06 remaining. The surge continued with Beverley’s basket and Harden’s 3-pointer before two free throws by Motiejunas ended the 13-0 run and stretched the lead to 15.

Motiejunas scored 15 points in the first half as Houston held a 51-50 lead at the break. The contest was tied at 71 late in the third quarter before Orlando rolled off seven straight and the Rockets recovered to score the final six of the period to trail 78-77.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Harden was just 4-of-14 from the field but connected on 8-of-11 free throws. … The Magic were 6-of-22 from 3-point range with F Channing Frye making three. … The Rockets improve to 31-3 when holding opponents under 100 points.