Heat-Magic Preview

By ALAN FERGUSON
Posted Dec 30 2012 9:46PM

The return of Dwyane Wade wasn't enough to help the Miami Heat avoid losing back-to-back games. A visit to the slumping Orlando Magic might keep their skid from growing to a season-high mark.

While LeBron James attempts to add to an impressive scoring run Monday, Miami will try to get back on track by sending Orlando to its first six-game losing streak in nearly seven years.

Wade scored 24 points in his return from a one-game suspension Saturday but the Heat (20-8) had only two other players in double figures in a 104-85 defeat in Milwaukee. LeBron James had a team-best 26 points and Chris Bosh had 12 on 5-of-14 shooting after scoring 28 in a 109-99 loss to Detroit on Friday, which snapped a six-game win streak.

"Obviously, the last 48 hours have not gone we wanted it to," Erik Spoelstra said. "We don't want to make any excuses about it. Milwaukee kicked our butt. They were the better team tonight. We will gather ourselves, get to Orlando and start to work on it."

James' performance gave him 20 or more points in all 28 games, tying him with former Boston star and current Houston coach Kevin McHale for the second-longest such streak to open a season since the NBA-ABA merger. McHale accomplished his feat in 1986-87 and San Antonio great George Gervin had a 45-game run in 1981-82.

The Heat superstar will seek to surpass McHale's streak while helping his team avoid its first three-game skid since Jan. 10-13. James, who turned 28 years old Sunday, was kept under 20 points in three of last season's four meetings with Orlando, while Wade has averaged 29.4 on 56.3 percent shooting in his past five matchups.

Miami is also seeking to avoid a third consecutive road defeat when it wraps up a four-game trip. The Heat haven't experienced such a skid since a four-game losing streak March 2-14, which included a 104-98 overtime defeat in Orlando.

Miami lost in both visits to its in-state rivals last season and is 2-10 in its last 12, but this time it will face a Magic team that traded away its two top scorers from 2011-12, Dwight Howard and Ryan Anderson.

Orlando has suffered all of its five losses since starting forward Glen Davis suffered a shoulder injury. Point guard Jameer Nelson (hip) and his backup, E'Twaun Moore (elbow) sat out Saturday's game against Toronto and their statuses are unknown for this one.

Without those players, Orlando (12-18) was hardly competitive in a 123-88 home loss, its third in a row at the Amway Center.

Rookie forward Andrew Nicholson had a career-high 22 points in his second NBA start but the other four starters combined to score 35.

"That's when character is developed. Not when it's easy and quiet but when it's pretty noisy and hard," coach Jacque Vaughn said. "I think we have a great group of guys with character. Everyone wants to win and I would hope that there is some signs of us wanting to get better and not accepting the performance we had (Saturday) night."

The Magic lost a season-high four straight at home Nov. 25-Dec. 12, but haven't dropped six in a row overall since Feb. 26-March 6, 2006.

Miami and Orlando split their four meetings last season. The Southeast Division rivals won't face each other until March 6.

James, Bosh lead Heat over Magic 112-110 in OT

Posted Dec 31 2012 9:47PM

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) The Miami Heat got another glimpse at how difficult it is every night when you're the defending NBA champion. The Heat needed clutch performances from each of their stars to slip past the injury-depleted Orlando Magic.

LeBron James scored eight of his 36 points in overtime and also finished with 11 assists and eight rebounds to help Miami beat the Magic 112-110 on Monday.

The Heat, beaten decisively by Detroit and Milwaukee before arriving in Orlando, got a decisive dunk from Dwayne Wade with 6.2 seconds left in the extra period to avoid what could have been their first three-game losing streak this season.

"The biggest thing was that we didn't want to lose," Wade said. "We dug in against a team that played very well. They had some guys on the court that half the NBA never heard of, but those guys did an unbelievable job. They pushed us to the limit."

Miami also needed a pair of baskets from Chris Bosh in the final minute of regulation just to get them to overtime. Bosh had 22 points and Wade added 21.

"The one thing I liked is that I saw an absolute competitive desperation in our guys in the fourth quarter and overtime," Miami Coach Erik Spoelstra said. "In a perfect world, I would like to see where we didn't have to get pushed that far, but our guys did not want to lose that game. You saw a competitive spirit that our team is known for."

Orlando rookie coach Jacque Vaughn had plenty of praise for his team despite a sixth straight loss. The Magic got a franchise-record 29 rebounds and a career-high 20 points from Nikola Vucevic, 28 points from Arron Afflalo and 23 points from J.J. Redick. They led by four with 1:07 left in regulation and were down only two in the final minute of overtime, but couldn't execute in the clutch.

"We really showed a lot of resolve tonight, a lot of fight and I hope our fans appreciated that," Vaughn said. "We talk about character and how you will be challenged with a little adversity and how you respond. I'm proud of how we responded."

Orlando, in the midst of a rebuilding program, played without injured point guard Jameer Nelson, his backup, E'Twaun Moore, and starting power forward Glen Davis. The lack of ballhandlers and depth never showed until the final minute of overtime, when the Magic committed three turnovers and couldn't get off a shot to either extend a lead or tie the game.

"We almost beat the Miami Heat without some of our really important players," Vucevic said. "We were right there. If we play hard like we did tonight, we have a chance against anybody in this league."

Miami, by contrast, had only one turnover in the second half and none in overtime. The Heat got plays when they needed them from James, Bosh and Wade.

"This is a winning league," James said. "It's not about how close you came to losing or how close you came to winning. We won. I'm not discrediting what they did; they played a great game. We just made one more play than they did."

James scored on a driving layup with 1:07 left in the extra period to give Miami a 108-106 lead. He missed a shot from the top of the key, giving Orlando a chance to tie, but Shane Battier stole a cross-court pass from Redick and fed Wade for his late slam.

Josh McRoberts cut it to two with two seconds to play, but James sealed it at the line.

The first half was a series of momentum swing by both teams, with Miami breaking off a 10-0 run early and Orlando responding with a 12-0 burst in the second quarter. The Magic finished the half on a 21-8 run to take a 54-48 halftime lead.

The back-and-forth play continued in the second half. Miami scored the first seven points to go ahead 55-54 on an 18-foot jumper by James, but the Magic responded with a 13-2 run, punctuated by a 20-foot jumper from the corner by DeQuan Jones to go back in front 67-57.

The Heat scored the last four points of the third quarter and the first nine of the fourth, eventually taking a 79-77 lead on a vicious slam by James with 9:38 left in regulation. Miami forced three turnovers and three missed shots in the 13-0 run.

Redick stopped the rally with back-to-back 3-pointers, which set up a mad dash for the finish line. A 3-pointer by James gave Miami a 91-89 lead, but the Magic went back in front on a three-point play by Afflalo that made it 94-91 with 2:45 left.

Orlando led 99-95 after Vucevic hit a 15-footer with 1:07 to go, but Bosh tied it with back-to-back baskets. The Heat forward had a chance to win it in regulation, but his runner from eight feet hit the side of the basket, sending the game into overtime.

Notes: James has scored 20 or more points in all 29 of Miami's games this season. . Nelson sat out his second straight game with a hip injury. The Magic are 1-8 when he is out of the lineup. . Miami F Udonis Haslem returned after missing one game with a shoulder injury. Haslem had 2 points and 6 rebounds. . Wade, a 78 percent free throw shooter, missed his first four attempts. Wade was just 3 of 10 from the line for the game.

Notebook: Heat 112, Magic 110

Dick Scanlon, for NBA.com
Posted Mon Dec 31, 2012 9:48 PM - Updated Mon Dec 31, 2012 9:48 PM

THE FACTS: LeBron James and Dwyane Wade scored all 13 of the Miami Heat's overtime points as the defending NBA champions closed out the year with a 112-110 victory over the Orlando Magic.

James scored 10 of his 36 points in the overtime period and Wade clinched the victory with a backcourt steal and dunk.

The Heat avoided a third straight defeat despite taking a 50-33 beating on the boards.

Magic center Nikola Vucevic set a franchise record with 29 rebounds and scored a career-high 20 points.

Arron Afflalo led the Magic with 28 points. J.J. Redick came off the bench with 23 points before making the cross-court pass that Wade intercepted and turned into a four-point Miami lead with 6.2 seconds left.

QUOTABLE: "This is a winning league. You win or lose. It's not about how close you came to losing or how close you came to winning. We won; I am not discrediting what they did. They played a great game. They have some really good players and some pretty good pieces. We just made one more play than they did."
-- LeBron James

QUOTABLE II: "We didn't want to lose another one. We didn't want to lose the last game (of 2012) and have a bad New Years."
-- Dwyane Wade

THE STAT: Vucevic's 29 rebounds broke the Magic record of 28 set by Shaquille O'Neal on Nov. 20, 1993, at New Jersey.

TURNING POINT: Joel Anthony beat the third-quarter buzzer with a put-back for the Heat, cutting the Magic's lead to seven before Miami opened the fourth quarter with nine straight points.

HOT: Redick made 5-of-9 3-point shots and shot 9-for-13 overall.

NOT: Wade missed seven of 10 free throws, including three straight in overtime.

GOOD MOVE: The Magic defended James with the 7-foot Vucevic and 6-foot-10 Josh McRoberts, provoking some low-percentage 3-point shots.

BAD MOVE: The Magic chose not to double-team James late in the game and he scored Miami's first six points in overtime.

QUOTABLE III: "We decided to pick our poison ... Collectively, I think we did a decent job of just making his shots tough."
-- Magic coach Jacque Vaughn

IN THE ARENA: Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay and his family gave Magic fans a scoreboard holiday greeting before the game ... The crowd of 19,311 set a franchise record.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: With his 10.5 average, Vucevic has vaulted into the NBA's top 10 in rebounding

QUOTABLE IV: "Tonight we came out aggressive, we played really hard, and we showed that if we play like that we have a chance to beat anybody . We almost beat the Miami Heat without some of our really important players so if we play hard like we did tonight, we have a chance against anybody in this league."
-- Nikola Vucevic

ROOKIE WATCH: Magic forward Maurice Harkless did not play after starting 20 straight games. He was replaced in the starting lineup by rookie DeQuan Jones, who finished with six points in 24 minutes.

NOTABLE: James, who recently went six straight games without being called for a foul, was whistled for an offensive foul just 10 seconds into the game. His next foul came in overtime . . . Glen Davis (shoulder), Jameer Nelson (hip), Gustavo Ayon (thigh) and E'Twaun Moore (elbow) sat out the game for the Magic . . . The Heat turn the ball over once after the first half . . . The Magic have lost six straight.

UP NEXT: For the Heat: Wednesday vs. Dallas, Friday vs. Chicago, Sunday vs. Washington. For the Magic: Wednesday vs. Chicago, Saturday vs. New York, Monday @ Portland.

• Heat: Harris, Pittman
• Magic: Davis, Harrington

• Heat: --
• Magic: --

• Lead Changes: 13
• Times Tied: 7

• Arena: Amway Center, Orlando, FL
• Officials: #48 Scott Foster, #6 Tony Brown, #12 Violet Palmer
• Attendance: 19311
• Duration: 2:34