Heat-Magic Preview

By JEFF MEZYDLO
Posted Feb 08 2012 12:07AM

The Orlando Magic have been running hot and cold over the last two weeks.

That's unlike the Miami Heat, who have been simply scorching of late.

The Magic look to bounce back from another frustrating defeat as they try to prevent the Southeast Division-leading Heat from a fourth straight win Wednesday night at the Amway Center.

While Miami (19-6) has won 11 of 13 since dropping a season-high three in a row, Orlando (15-10) had its three-game winning streak snapped with a 107-102 overtime loss Monday. It was the Magic's first defeat since a four-game skid that preceded the winning stretch.

The Magic must be on top of their game to have a chance at cooling off a Heat club holding opponents to 91.7 points per contest over the last 13 games. Orlando, which split the four-game season series with the Heat in 2010-11, is four games behind Miami in the Southeast.

"(The Heat are) a great team and a team that we always like competing against, so it should be a good game," forward Ryan Anderson told the Magic' official website. "Miami is one of the teams that we know we have to get through if we want to really be successful this season."

This is the opener of a six-game road trip for Miami, which is 7-4 away from home. The Heat split their two games at Orlando last season.

"I think it's going to be great," LeBron James said. "One thing about us, we love these road trips. They bring us together even more. It's just us. It's the 15 guys, the coaching staff, the training staff and we all come together. It's a big test for us."

James averaged 30.0 points on 59.7 percent (43 of 72) shooting against the Magic last season. He scored a season-high 51 on 17-of-25 shooting and added 11 rebounds with eight assists in the Heat's 104-100 win in their last visit to Orlando on Feb. 3, 2011.

Dwyane Wade averaged 21.5 points against the Magic last season, but went 11 of 33 from the field while scoring 32 in the two games at Orlando. Wade's averaged 24.4 points on 51.8 percent shooting in his last five overall.

He had 26 while James added 24 as Miami outscored Cleveland 29-19 in the fourth quarter Tuesday.

"They have looked unbelievable," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "They've had their nights where they weren't so good, but when you watch somebody like that you normally go to the schedule and realize they are playing their fifth game in seven nights or something."

Orlando's current problem remains inconsistency.

Two nights after a strong defensive effort led to an 85-81 win at Indiana on Saturday, the Magic blew a 15-point first-half lead against the Clippers. Dwight Howard had 33 points with 14 rebounds, Jason Richardson scored 20 and Jameer Nelson added 15 with 12 assists in his return from a five-game absence to deal with concussion symptoms.

"Our guys played hard," Van Gundy said. "The only thing I fault our guys for was the start of the third quarter. The first six minutes, we came with no energy whatsoever. The rest, it's on me."

Howard has averaged 24.4 points and 13.7 rebounds in the last seven games, but he's scored more than 19 points once in the last eight meetings with Miami.

Magic hit 17 3-pointers in 102-89 win over Heat

By KYLE HIGHTOWER
Posted Feb 08 2012 11:38PM

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) It's been an open secret for several seasons how much the 3-point shot has become an indispensable part of the Orlando Magic's offense.

They reminded the Miami Heat just how punishing they can be when they get it going from long range.

Dwight Howard had 25 points and 24 rebounds, Ryan Anderson scored 27 and the Magic hit 17 3-pointers in a 102-89 victory Wednesday night.

Anderson had five 3s - all in the first half - and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Magic. Howard posted his 20th double-double of the season.

Orlando fell two shy of its season high for 3s and set a team record with 42 attempts.

Anderson said as much as it might have looked as though the Magic were just jacking up 3s, there is a definite method to their attack when they get hot from the outside.

"If somebody starts rolling, then all the attention's going to be on them. Then we'll swing it around and we've got another shooter," Anderson said. "I think when the crowd gets into it, when we have great energy as a team and we're being really unselfish and moving the ball, it is contagious."

The Magic have won four of five since their season-high four-game losing streak. They have also beaten Miami in nine of their last 11 meetings in Orlando.

Dwyane Wade led the Heat with 33 points, but had only 11 after halftime. LeBron James added 17 as the Heat had their three-game winning streak snapped.

Miami continues its six-game road trip Friday at Washington.

"They set the tone this game, right from the get-go," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We were able to get into a little bit more of an aggressiveness and attack. A little bit more of a disposition in the second quarter, but they were able to sustain it longer and more consistently than we were able to."

In the middle of a stretch of 20 games in 32 days before the All-Star break, the Magic got a rare day off from game action Tuesday. They seemed energized from the opening tip against the Heat, racing out to a 17-point lead in the first half.

That cushion was 16 at the start of the fourth quarter thanks to all those 3s.

The Heat got within 89-80 on a basket by Chris Bosh before Jameer Nelson's 3 from the corner pushed the Magic's advantage back to 12 with 3:53 to play. The Heat never got any closer.

Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said it was a solid first effort against a Southeast Division rival they will face three more times this season.

"I thought we did a good job of gathering ourselves," Van Gundy said. "We held our composure and nobody seemed the least bit worried. We just kept making plays."

Orlando was shooting better from the 3-point line than from the field at one point in the fourth quarter. The Magic finished the night at 42 percent from the floor (35 for 83) and 40 percent (17 for 42) from 3-point range.

Miami shot 47 percent from the field (36 for 76) but had only five 3-pointers.

The Heat also held a 40-30 advantage on points in the paint, but Orlando led 23-9 in second-chance points.

Anderson's 3-pointer gave the Magic their biggest lead of the first half at 44-27.

The Heat responded by closing the half with a 24-9 spurt - including the final 12 points by Wade - to go into halftime trailing by only three.

Wade finished the half with 22 points, while Anderson's five 3s and 24 points paced the Magic.

Howard had 13 points and 13 rebounds in the opening 24 minutes.

"They shot the 3 extremely well and the big fella in the middle took care of his 20 and 20 once again," James said. "Sometimes you have to pick your poison, but we gave up both tonight. They are an extremely tough team to beat when they are making the 3s and the big fella is doing what he wants."

Magic forward Glen Davis, who played his second game since a two-game team suspension for a verbal spat with Van Gundy, said he thought the biggest takeaway for the team was how it was able to stay together down the stretch and withstand the Heat's late run.

In the preseason, it was Davis who preached to his new teammates following his trade from Boston about how important a true family atmosphere would be to prolonged success this season.

He thought Wednesday was a big step toward that.

"That's what it's about, taking the punch and keep fighting," Davis said. "That's what we did. We knew (Miami) was going to make their run because they're great team. But we just made sure we didn't buckle or get out of control. We stayed in control and we executed to the end."

Notes: It was Howard's sixth game this season with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds. ... Heat point guard Mario Chalmers missed his first start of the season with a sprained left hand.

Notebook: Magic 102, Heat 89

Posted Wednesday February 8, 2012 11:18PM

By Dick Scanlon, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: The Orlando Magic tacked 17 3-point field goals onto Dwight Howard's 25 points and 24 rebounds in a 102-89 victory over the Miami Heat.

Dwyane Wade scored a game-high 33 points for the Heat, who never led in the first game of a six-gme road trip. LeBron James, who dropped 51 on the Magic in his last trip to Orlando a year ago, had 17 points, six rebounds and 10 assists.

The Magic's Ryan Anderson scored 24 of his 27 points in the first half and added 11 rebounds.

QUOTABLE: "Obviously the amount of 3s they were able to take and make really made the difference in the game."
-- Miami coach Erik Spoelstra

THE STAT: Seven Magic shooters combined for 17 3-pointers on a franchise-record 42 attempts.

QUOTABLE II: "That's quite a few, even for us, but I would say 35 or 36 of them were good shots."
-- Magic coach Stan Van Gundy

TURNING POINT: The Heat had trimmed a 19-point Magic lead to 10 in three minutes when J.J. Redick nailed a 3-pointer with 6:16 remaining.

HOT: Anderson made his first five 3-pointers and scored 24 points in the first half.

NOT: Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu has scored three points on 1-for-12 shooting in the last two games.

GOOD MOVE: Howard played the entire second half for the Magic.

BAD MOVE: Spoelstra may have waited too long to put James back in the game in the fourth quarter. When James got in with 8:57 left, the Heat were down by 19.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Anderson had 11 more rebounds and has 62 in his last six games.

QUOTABLE III: "Guys are kind of focused on me out on the perimeter so it gives me an opportunity to kind of sneak behind defenses. And when you play with Dwight, a lot of defenses are sucked on him and it gives me a chance to get my hands on the ball."
-- Magic forward Ryan Anderson

ROOKIE WATCH: Norris Cole got his first start for the Heat in place of injured point guard Mario Chalmers, putting up nine points and four assists in 31 minutes.

NOTABLE: Chalmers bruised his left hand against Cleveland on Tuesday night and missed his first game of the season. ... Wade scored 12 points in a span of 2:44 late in the first half. ... The Magic have won 17 of their last 22 games against the Heat, but still trail the all-time series, 45-43.

UP NEXT: For the Heat, Friday @ Washington, Sunday @ Atlanta, Monday @ Milwaukee. For the Magic, Friday vs. Atlanta, Saturday @ Milwaukee, Monday vs. Minnesota.

• Heat: Chalmers
• Magic: Liggins, Orton

• Heat: --
• Magic: --

• Lead Changes: 0
• Times Tied: 0

• Arena: Amway Center, Orlando, FL
• Officials: #10 Ron Garretson, #18 Matt Boland, #50 Olandis Poole
• Attendance: 18972
• Duration: 2:11