The Rockets have come out on top and beat the Magic 117-113 after nearly throwing away the perfect comeback at the end of regulation time. They fought back and took their third lead of the entire game with less than three minutes left on the clock.
Kevin Durant nailed a crucial three-point shot to give them this lead after the superstar had gone 0-for-6 for the night from beyond the arc until that point.
pic.twitter.com/y2fzspg1To https://t.co/xlSb3PdRgE
— Bradeaux (@BradeauxNBA) November 17, 2025
The Orlando Magic took the lead once again before Kevin Durant took over and tied the game with another three-point shot with 21 seconds left in the game.
KEVIN DURANT IN THE CLUTCH 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/5P0qPm15LL
— Bradeaux (@BradeauxNBA) November 17, 2025
And now it was time for Alperen Sengun to have a roller coaster ride in the final few seconds of the game. Sengun first came up with a crucial block to earn the possession for the Rockets with just five seconds left in the game. Subsequently, Sengun fumbled the inbound play, missed a wide-open Amen Thompson after the Rockets had earned the possession on his block.
His errant pass, resulting in a turnover and the follow-up defence, nearly cost the Rockets the game as the Magic took the lead with a little over one second left in the game on a wide-open dunk from Anthony Black, on which he was fouled by Sengun from behind.
Fortunately for the Turkish All-Star, Black missed his free throw, and the Rockets had little time to tie the game with a two-point shot. And on the next inbound, Thompson found Sengun inside the paint, who scored to tie the game at the buzzer.
AMEN THOMPSON FINDS ALPEREN SENGUN TO FORCE OVERTIME.
Incredible play. Incredible game 🤯 pic.twitter.com/U0EKYWdiBU
— NBA (@NBA) November 17, 2025
The game went into overtime, and Sengun helped the Rockets earn their biggest lead of the night as they went up 106-109 in overtime. Before this, Magic had dominated the game almost throughout the night, even without their star player, Paolo Banchero.
Eventually, the ball went back to Kevin Durant to close out the Magic as he gave the Rockets a 113-110 lead with just 9.2 seconds left on the clock for the Magic to try and even things out. It eventually became a free-throw contest from that point as the Rockets earned their win down the stretch.
Again… THIS is why you trade for KD!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/FKjla4yGx7 https://t.co/xlSb3PdRgE
— Bradeaux (@BradeauxNBA) November 17, 2025
Durant finished the game with 35 points, five rebounds, and six assists, while shooting 54.2% from the floor, proving why the Rockets traded for a superstar like him. On a night where Sengun and Thompson were both struggling to get anything going offensively, Durant took over before Sengun eventually found his form down the stretch.
Sengun had a near triple-double game with 30 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists, while shooting only 35.5% from the floor tonight. The Rockets have pushed their winning streak to four games, improved their season record to 9-3, and now have to wait until Wednesday to face the Cavaliers in Cleveland.
