National Basketball Association
Orlando 116, Miami 107
When: 7:30 PM ET, Monday, February 13, 2017
Where: American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida
Officials:
#47 Bennie Adams, #16 David Guthrie, #31 Scott Wall
Attendance:
19600
By The Sports Xchange
MIAMI -- The Miami Heat has officially been cooled off.
Evan Fournier scored nine of his game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter as the Orlando Magic beat the Heat 116-107 on Monday night at AmericanAirlines Arena.
The Heat (24-32) had won eight straight home games before this loss to Orlando (21-36).
In addition, the Heat had won 13 straight games overall -- the longest in the NBA this season and the longest in league history for a sub-.500 team -- before losing at the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night.
Now the Heat is on the wrong end of a two-game streak, and both defeats came against teams with losing records.
"It just shows you how tough this league is -- every night is a challenge," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "But we didn't play to our defensive identity. We have to commit to that side of the ball."
Fournier, who has scored more than 20 points in six straight games against the Heat, helped Orlando hold off Miami by making a layup with 90 seconds left in the game and then draining a 3-pointer on the Magic's next possession.
Besides Fournier, Orlando got 20 points off the bench from Elfrid Payton and also got a double-double by Nikola Vucevic (13 points, 17 rebounds).
Orlando snapped a four-game losing streak that included an embarrassing 112-80 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday.
Magic coach Frank Vogel asked his team for more effort on Monday, and he got it.
"It was a good game for us," Fournier said. "It's too bad we needed a poor performance (against Dallas) to make us really compete and play well."
It was a tough assessment by Fournier, but it certainly seems accurate. And the Magic, which won the rebound battle against Miami, 52-37, certainly looked more motivated in this game.
"Everybody was disappointed in our effort on Saturday," Payton said. "We wanted to come out and do better.
"Hopefully this will be the start of something."
Miami was led by Dion Waiter's 23 points. Goran Dragic added 22 points, and Hassan Whiteside produced a double-double (12 points, 19 rebounds).
Orlando dominated the first quarter, taking a 36-28 lead while holding a 17-5 rebounding advantage. Orlando also shot 54.2 percent from the floor and 9-of-9 on free throws.
The Magic led by as many as 14 points in the second quarter but had its advantage cut to 60-57 at halftime. Miami closed the half on a 14-3 run that included a buzzer-beating layup by Dragic, who managed to get the ball over Vucevic's swat attempt.
Orlando still had a 31-16 rebounding edge at the half, and Vucevic had 12 of those boards.
"I think that had a big impact," Vucevic said of the rebounds. "We didn't let them get a lot of second-chance points."
Miami, though, still had life in the second half. In fact, it took the Heat's final shot of the third quarter -- an unintentional straight-on bank shot by James Johnson -- before Miami could forge a tie score, 87-87.
The Heat led by as many as four points early in the fourth quarter, but Orlando rallied to send Miami to its first back-to-back losses since Dec. 14.
"There were pockets of the game where you saw us play with great energy defensively," Spoelstra said. "But there were pockets where Orlando scored relatively easily."
In the end, Orlando pocketed the victory.
NOTES: Heat F James Johnson had 15 points, snapping a three-game streak in which he had at least 20 points. ... Heat SG Dion Waiters (ankle injury) and Magic SF Aaron Gordon (foot) each returned after missing three consecutive games. ... There is pressure on Magic GM Rob Hennigan, who's in his fifth season in this role and his team is headed toward its fifth straight losing year with no playoffs during that span. ... Five Heat veterans are enjoying career years in scoring -- F James Johnson, G Tyler Johnson, SG Wayne Ellington, C Willie Reed and C Hassan Whiteside). Two more Heat veterans are less than one point away from career highs in scoring: PG Goran Dragic and Waiters. ... Whiteside, who led the NBA in blocks last season, is now first in rebounds. ... Up next, Miami visits the Houston Rockets on Wednesday. ... Orlando hosts the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday.
Top Game Performances
Orlando |
|
Miami |
Evan Fournier 24 |
Scoring |
Dion Waiters 23 |
Evan Fournier 4 |
Assists |
Dion Waiters 6 |
Nikola Vucevic 17 |
Rebounds |
Hassan Whiteside 19 |
Elfrid Payton 6 |
Free Throws Made |
Goran Dragic 10 |
Nikola Vucevic 3 |
Steals |
Tyler Johnson 2 |
Bismack Biyombo 1 |
Blocks |
James Johnson 3 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Orlando
|
116 |
48.9 |
8-14 |
20-29 |
18 |
52 |
3 |
9 |
14 |
Miami
|
107 |
47.0 |
6-22 |
23-27 |
14 |
37 |
7 |
7 |
15 |
Upcoming Games
-
Miami will play their next game on the road against Houston. The Heat have a W/L % of .625 after a win and .281 after a loss.
-
Orlando will play their next game at home against San Antonio. The Magic have a W/L % of .286 after a win and .417 after a loss.