An alarming Christmas Day loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Orlando Magic desperately needed to open their home floor with a victory. On Tuesday, they did just that, defeating the Houston Rockets 104-95.

Overall, it was a much better collective effort than the night before. Dwight Howard was close to his normal averages, going for 21 points. Hedo Turkoglu led all scorers with 23 and J.J. Redick hit three three pointers on his way to adding 20. 

The Rockets (0-1) fought hard throughout, but after the first half, the lead was rarely in question. Kyle Lowery had 20 points and 12 assists. In yet another return to The City Beautiful, Courtney Lee finished with 15 and shot 6-10 from the field. 

Orlando (1-1) are the benefactors of a rare two day break in the shortened NBA schedule before taking on New Jersey back at Amway Center on Thursday. 

Quote of the Night: J.J. Redick on if he should have gotten ejected after a technical, “I think he saw my face when I did it. I looked as innocent as a dove.”

Stat of the Night: The Magic outscored the Rockets in the paint 56-38