Franz Wagner struggles down stretch, and more takeaways from Magic vs. Rockets

The Orlando Magic dropped an overtime thriller to the Houston Rockets, 117-113, inside Toyota Center.

What were a few of our takeaways? Let's jump into it!

Magic matched Houston's physicality

Magic Rockets — Nov 16, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Orlando Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. (34) blocks a shot by Houston Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. (10) during the first quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

When you see the Rockets on the schedule, you know they're going to bring physicality on both ends of the floor. They're going to rebound, play hard and simply beat you up. And that's exactly what they did.

Orlando, who's built its own brand of physicality under head coach Jamahl Mosley, matched it, even without Paolo Banchero and Jalen Suggs. Houston, the overwhelming leader in offensive rebound percentage, were still dominant on the glass (plus-22). But the Magic held them to just 46.0 percent shooting inside the paint, limited Houston's second-chance points and forced six more turnovers.

Houston was the league's highest scoring team entering the game and finished with 102 points in regulation, two below their season low, which came on opening night against the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder.

Magic neutralize Amen Thompson's impact

The Magic's game plan on Thompson was simple: Let him shoot. The third-year wing is incredibly good at closing space, but Orlando limited him to just 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting, adding 10 rebounds and two assists.

Thompson couldn't find any rhythm offensively with the Magic electing to shrink the floor. Outside of his pair of dunks in overtime -- off cuts -- every time he had the ball, there was a herd of white jerseys.

Houston elected to run most of its offense through Alperen Sengun -- who the Magic did a fairly good job against through three quarters -- and Kevin Durant, who scored a game-high 35 points. It wasn't until overtime that he was able to get free along the baseline, while putting the icing on the cake with a pair of late free throws.

Franz Wagner struggles down stretch offensively, disappears in OT

Without Paolo Banchero, the Franz Wagner minutes were magnified. He was phenomenal in the first three quarters, tallying 25 points on 8-of-14 shooting with five rebounds and three assists.

After entering Sunday with a minus-six NET Rating without both Wagner and Banchero, Orlando did a great job finishing a plus-two in his 4:21 rest period in the second half. While the 6-foot-10 wing was the Magic's best player once again on Sunday, his impact in the fourth quarter was neutralized.

He went 0-for-7 in those two periods with minimal touches in OT, scoring just four points at the charity stripe. Ideally, the ball should've been in his hands more because of his ability to create not only for himself, but others. But Houston completely took him out of the game, and it deserves credit for that.

The Magic did not win on the margins. Wagner limited impact late was ultimately one of them.

Magic matched Houston's physicality

Magic neutralize Amen Thompson's impact

Franz Wagner struggles down stretch offensively, disappears in OT

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