| Score | Time Left | Off. Rtg. | eFG% | O.Reb.% | TOR | FTR | |
| Houston | 95 | Final | 107.0 | 47.6 | 27.5 | 9.0 | 20.7 |
| Orlando | 104 | Pace: 92 | 112.6 | 58.4 | 16.7 | 11.2 | 8.4 |
Orlando, Fla.
(0-0) vs. (0-1) 
Time/TV: 7 p.m./NBATV, Sun Sports
Line: Orlando by 5.5
Tickets: $34-$374 on TiqIQ
Season Series: Tonight in Orlando
1) The Magic’s season got off to a rough start as two separate scoring droughts kept the Magic from mounting a comeback against the Thunder. It certainly looked like two teams heading in opposite directions. A lack of a go-to scorer was the obvious difference, according to Eddy Rivera of MagicBasketball.net. He also provided grades for the Magic players. It was not a good performance at all. ZorgonB of Welcome To Loud City rightly points out that the comeback at the end of the fourth quarter was largely futile.
2) Shaun Powell of Hang Time Blog tries to read Dwight Howard’s body language and did not like what he saw from the superstar center’s effort against the stout Thunder. He might be reading too much into things while searching for a story.
3) David Stern tells Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel that he will watch the Dwight Howard situation from afar and what will happen, will happen.
4) Downtown businesses are getting ready for the first Magic game of the regular season, and breathing a sigh of relief because of it, Christian De La Rossa of Central Florida News 13 writes.
5) The Rockets signed Samuel Dalembert late Sunday and Dalembert participated in shootaround Monday morning. Jonathan Feigen of Ultimate Rockets reports Dalembert will play in tonight’s game.
6) Jerome Solomon of Ultimate Rockets writes Houston is still stuck in the middle of the Western Conference. A shortened schedule will not help, Jonathan Feigen of Ultimate Rockets writes, because there will be less margin for error if the team gets off to a slow start. Solomon writes a win would help build momentum for the Rockets and get the team on the road to a postseason berth. The search for a center has been a big part of Houston’s attempt to make the postseason again, Andrew Melnick of Howard the Dunk writes.
7) Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel writes Ryan Anderson was about the only thing good to come out of Sunday’s game.
8) The Lakers do not appear to be budging on their refusal to trade both Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol for Dwight Howard, T.J. Simers of the Los Angeles Times reports.
9) The Rockets open their season tonight, and despite a lot of perceived advantages, according to ak2themax of The Dream Shake, Houston still has a lot of work to do to get a win tonight on the road.
10) Royce Young of Daily Thunder liked that Oklahoma City got a straight “buttoned-up” win in its opener even though the Thunder only showed flashes of its upcoming brilliance. There were no signs of Oklahoma City being weighed down by expectations.
11) The key for the Thunder was Kendrick Perkins besting Dwight Howard all night. John Rhode of The Oklahoman writes it was the bench that turned things around for Oklahoma City early on.
