James Harden sank his first 3-pointer of the second half with 75 seconds left and the Houston Rockets closed out a 103-98 comeback win against the visiting Orlando Magic on Sunday at Toyota Center.

Harden finished with 40 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and three blocks. It was his 23rd consecutive game with 30-plus points. He was 0 for 7 on second-half treys before his 3 snapped a 95-95 tie. Harden followed with a step-back 17-footer with 30.5 seconds left.

Houston outscored Orlando 29-16 in the fourth quarter to earn a split of the season series.

The Magic led by as many as 16 points and mustered a reply to every threat until the fourth.

Aaron Gordon (23 points, 10 rebounds) and Nikola Vucevic (19 points, 17 rebounds) posted double-doubles for Orlando, which also got 18 points from Evan Fournier and 15 off the bench from Terrence Ross.

The Magic finished with a 56-39 rebounding edge, but shot just 40.2 percent and struggled from deep (10 of 35) and at the line (10 of 17).

Houston's Chris Paul had 12 points and six assists in his return from a 17-game absence with a hamstring injury. Kenneth Faried added a double-double (12 points, 10 boards) for the Rockets, who took their first lead at 93-92 on a P.J. Tucker transition layup with 4:13 remaining.

Vucevic bludgeoned the Rockets from the opening tip, pairing nine rebounds with 11 points in the opening quarter. The Magic closed the first period with a plus-9 advantage on the glass and recorded 16 points in the paint.

Harden played brilliantly during that same stretch but received little support, scoring 15 first-quarter points while his teammates shot a combined 1 for 12.

Orlando led 34-18 entering the second. Whenever the Rockets tried to rally, the Magic responded with more interior dominance. Harden completed a driving layup that cut the deficit to 46-42, only for Vucevic to score in the post before Fournier added a driving layup of his own.

One critical sequence worked against the Rockets late in the first half, with Faried whistled for offensive goaltending on a Harden shot that appeared set to fall and with Houston trailing by four.

Vucevic followed by converting through a Faried foul at the 2:43 mark. Vucevic missed the subsequent free throw, but Jonathan Isaac snared the offensive rebound and D.J. Augustin drilled a 3-pointer, completing a five-point possession that stretched the Orlando lead to 55-46.

--Field Level Media