The Miami HEAT defeated the Orlando Magic 99-92 Saturday night at Amway Center. Chris Bosh led the way for the HEAT with 32 points and 10 rebounds.
Impact Performance of the Night: Chris Bosh and Mario Chalmers had excellent outings against the Magic. Bosh caught fire in the fourth quarter and hit nearly every shot he took, even well-contested jumpers. He was locked-in and would not be denied on this night. Bosh scored 14 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter and also grabbed 10 boards in all.
Chalmers, meanwhile, attacked the basket very well, even against a good defender in Elfrid Payton. He also hit some outside shots and created well for his teammates. Chalmers finished with 24 points, 10 of which came in the fourth quarter, and eight assists.
The Deciding Run: Thanks to the clutch play from Bosh and Chalmers, Miami went on a 14-4 run to go up 91-81 with 3:17 left in the game. Orlando would make a little comeback, but the HEAT made stops to ensure the Magic wouldn’t take back the lead.
Earlier, the HEAT went on a 16-8 run to go up 67-59 with 3:14 left in the third quarter behind better defense and nice ball movement on the offensive end.
Play of the Game: With 1:33 left in the game, Chalmers drove in off a screen from Bosh. The defense collapsed, but Chalmers still finished a tough finger-roll over Elfrid Payton to put the HEAT up 96-88.
Another nice play came with 3:05 to go in the first half. Shannon Brown brought the ball up after Luol Deng grabbed a defensive rebound. At the left wing, Brown looked to his right as if he was going to pass, which caused the Magic defenders to look that way as well. A lane quickly opened up and Brown accelerated right through it to finish a one-handed slam that put Miami up 42-39.
Lastly, with 3:02 left in the first quarter, Victor Oladipo aggressively drove into the lane from the right wing. Oladipo rose for the dunk, but Chris Andersen came from behind and swatted it cleanly to save two points.
Efficiency Rating: Offensive Efficiency: 112.6; Defensive Efficiency: 105.9
Trend to Watch: Miami did some damage from downtown against Orlando thanks to improved ball movement. The HEAT went 12-of-26 from long-range, and plenty of those came in the fourth quarter. Bosh led Miami with four treys, while three other players nailed two apiece. Conversely, the Magic only shot 3-of-16 from deep thanks to solid defense from the HEAT.
The Takeaway: After a tough game on Thursday night, the HEAT responded with a gritty win against an up-and-coming Magic squad. While Nikola Vucevic had a pretty good game, there were quite a few times where both Chris Bosh and Shawne Williams made him catch the ball a little outside of his comfort zone. This game started to go in Miami’s favor when it amped up the defensive pressure in the third quarter before Bosh and Chalmers took over on the offensive end in the fourth.
Once again, the HEAT had solid contributions from Shawne Williams and Shabazz Napier. Williams had a quick start and finished with 10 points and five boards. Napier, meanwhile, poured in 12 points and did well in Norris Cole’s absence.
Notes: Dwyane Wade (hamstring) sat out.
Game Highlights: