Last time the Miami Heat visited the Orlando Magic at the Amway Center, LeBron James put up 51 points- his career high in a Heat uniform.
This time around, it was a much different story.
Coming off a tough overtime loss to the Los Angeles Clippers Monday night, the Magic (16-10) tied a season-high with 17 three-pointers, while getting 25 points and 24 rebounds from All-Star Dwight Howard, to bounce back for a 102-89 victory over the defending Eastern Conference champions Wednesday night at the Amway Center.
“We needed a good win, we came out tonight with prettty much the same energy we had last game, and we got a good win,” Howard said. “I think we did a better job coming out in the third quarter…they made a little run but we kept playing and got a good win.”
James was limited to just 17 points on five-of-15 shooting from the field this time around, but had a strong overall effort with 10 assists, six boards and three steals.
“You play them the best you can. If there was a game plan to lock those guys down, number one, everyone would use it and, number two, they wouldn’t be who they are,” Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. “You do the best you can and hope they miss some shots, and he (James) missed some tonight.”
Orlando began the game with hot shooting and ended the game with even hotter shooting. The Magic hit nine three pointers in the first half- five coming from Ryan Anderson- and they continued their strong shooting for the remainder of the contest to keep the Heat (19-7) at bay, while ending their Southeast Division rivals three-game winning streak.
Anderson led the Magic with 27 points, 15 from beyond the arc, to go along with 11 rebounds and three assists.
“Ryan was amazing. Shot the ball well, he rebounded, and that’s how we need him to play. They were leaving him open, and he knocked down shots,” Howard said. “So, just got to continue to be confident in his shot and just play hard.”
Despite the monster start by Orlando, which saw them grab a 17-point lead at one point in the second quarter, it wasn’t enough to put away the Heat. Actually, it wasn’t enough to put away Dwyane Wade.
Wade single-handedly kept the Heat in the game, posting 18 second-quarter points on 90 percent shooting from the floor that allowed Miami to go into halftime trailing by only three points, 53-50.
“I thought we did a good job gathering ourselves, we held our composure and nobody seemed the least bit worried. We just kept making plays,” Van Gundy said.
Wade led all scorers to finish the game with 33 points on 15-of-24 shooting.
However, it was the third quarter that knocked the wind out of the Heat. Led by more hot shooting and suffocating defense, the Magic were able to outscore the Heat 24-11 in the third quarter, limiting Miami to five-of-22 shooting from the field.
The 11 points in the third quarter was a season low for Miami and the lowest point total since the Big Three era began.
“You have to give them credit because they sustained it. We made a run there in the second quarter, but then to jump out in the third quarter, they put us at bay again, and it seemed like the whole night they had us on our heels,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
Despite a 77-61 deficit going into the final quarter, the Heat were able to hang around, making an 11-2 run midway through the fourth quarter to get within nine points.
However, subsequent three-pointers by Jason Richardson and J.J. Redick put a huge damper in the Heat’s comeback bid.
Overall, the Magic shot 17-of-42 (40.5 percent) from beyond the arc, with Orlando’s 42 attempts being a franchise high from the three-point line.
Despite Anderson and Howard combining for 52 of the Magic’s points, Orlando played solid team ball all around. They played aggressive defense on James and Bosh, limiting the All-Star duo to 10-of-27 shooting in the game.
Bosh ended with 12 points and nine rebounds.
Orlando also dominated the boards, grabbing 48 to the Heat’s 38, including owning the offensive boards 17-9. That led to the Magic holding the edge in second chance points, 23-9, which disrupted the Heat’s defensive flow.
But, it was the lights out shooting and dominant performance by Howard that really sunk the Heat.
“They shot the three extremely well. The Big Fella in the middle took care of his 20 and 20 once again. Sometimes you have to pick your poison, but we gave up both tonight,” James said. “They are an extremely tough team to beat when they are making the threes and Big Fella is doing what he wants.”
The only area where the Magic weren’t proficient were on the fast break, where they allowed Miami to notch 16 fast-break points.
The Magic return to action Friday night against the Atlanta Hawks, who knocked Orlando out of the playoffs in six games in last year’s Eastern Conference quarterfinals.
