The Houston Rockets and Orlando Magic meet for the second of their two matchups this season, on Thursday night in Orlando with both teams are in the thick of their respective conference playoff races. The Rockets vs. Magic Thursday game tips at 7:30 p.m. on Prime Video.
The Magic return home after a 3-1 West Coast trip that included a sweep of the Los Angeles teams.
Orlando sits in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, a half-game behind the 76ers for an automatic playoff spot.
The Rockets are also 3-1 since the All-Star Break and coming off a dismantling of the Kings last night. Houston sits in third place in the Western Conference, percentage points ahead of the Nuggets.
Below, we’ll break down our Rockets vs. Magic prediction, picks, and spread for Thursday night’s game. Make your NBA Picks on PrizePicks and earn real money if you’re right, including on game winners, spreads, and totals!
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Rockets vs. Magic Prediction, Spread, Over/Under
The Rockets and Magic meet for the second of their two annual meetings after Houston won in overtime back in November. The Rockets hold a 42-32 all-time advantage in the regular season and swept the lone postseason meeting, in the 1995 NBA Finals.
Rockets vs Magic Spread, Over/Under
The Rockets enter Thursday night’s game as 2.5-point favorites, returning a 1.66x payout on PrizePicks Team Picks if they win.
The Magic are underdogs with a 2.17x payout if they win, via PrizePicks Team Picks, where you can earn money with your picks in 34 states.
- Spread: Houston Rockets -2.5
- Over/Under: 215.5
- Game Winner Payout: Magic 2.17x | Rockets 1.66x
Team Picks data is live at the time of writing and is subject to change.
Rockets vs. Magic Prediction on Spread
Here are the key stats to know before locking in your Rockets vs. Magic prediction on the spread for Thursday, February 26 on PrizePicks.
- The Rockets are 26-31 (45.6%) against the spread this season, including back-to-back covers as double-digit favorites.
- Houston has failed to cover in 30 of 49 games as a favorite and in 14 of 24 games as a road favorite. Both the 30 non-covers as favorite and 14 non-covers as road favorite are most in the NBA.
- The Rockets lead the NBA in rebounding with 48.4 per game and are third in blocks with 3.9 per game, posing a challenge for anyone coming inside on them. They are also fourth in defensive rating at 111.4.
- The Magic are 25-32 (43.9%) to the spread this season, the fifth-worst cover percentage of all NBA teams in 2025-26. However, they covered in all four games out of the break on the West Coast trip.
- Orlando is 9-9 this season as an underdog this season, with covers over the last three games in Phoenix and both contests in Los Angeles.
- The Magic are a small home underdog for only the fourth time this season (2-1 ATS).
- The Magic offense has struggled shooting, as they are 26th in the league in EFG pct (52.9), 16th in offensive rating (113.4), and 20th in FG pct (46.3).
Rockets vs. Magic Injury Report
Let’s dive into the full Rockets vs Magic injury report for Thursday, via NBA.com
Rockets Injury Report
- Not available as of publication
Magic Injury Report
- G Jalen Suggs (back) - Questionable
- F Franz Wagner (ankle) - OUT
Rockets vs Magic Picks for PrizePicks Today: February 26
Here are top Rockets vs. Magic picks to target for Thursday, February 26 on PrizePicks. Today’s NBA picks for PrizePicks are headlined by Rockets C Alperen Sengun and Magic F Paolo Banchero.
Rockets C Alperen Sengun Projection vs. Magic: 4.5 Assists
- Rockets C Alperen Sengun has gone over his assists projection in five straight and in six of the last seven games.
- In all five of those games that Sengun went over his assists projection, the Rockets shot greater than 46% from the field. They did not reach 46% in the previous nine games and Sengun hit his assist projection only twice over that time.
- Sengun’s 6.4 assists per game are 21st in the NBA and second among all centers, only trailing Nikola Jokic.
- The former Thunder draft pick is averaging 5.1 assists in eight career games vs. the Magic.
Magic F Paolo Banchero Projection vs. Rockets: 21.5 Points
- Magic F Paolo Banchero has reached his points projection in three of the last four games after failing to do so in seven straight games before the All-Star Break.
- The big difference? Volume. In three games since the break and in the last five games in which Banchero has 20+ FG attempts, he has hit his points projection. In the last nine games where he didn’t reach 20+ FG attempts, he did not.
- The Duke product has averaged 27 PPG in the four games since the break, going for 36 Tuesday night vs. the Lakers, his second-highest output of the season.
- Banchero missed the contest earlier this season against the Rockets, but has averaged 23.7 points per game in the six career games vs. Houston.
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Make Rockets vs. Magic Picks on PrizePicks
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