Heat 108, Magic 94: LeBron James overcame a slow start to collect 24 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds as visiting Miami extended its winning streak to 27 games.
Mario Chalmers added 17 points and Ray Allen and Chris Bosh scored 12 apiece as the Heat moved within six wins of tying the record 33-game streak set by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers. Miami notched its 13th straight road win to move a franchise-record 42 games above .500 despite playing without Dwyane Wade for a second game in a row.
Jameer Nelson had 27 points and 12 assists and Tobias Harris scored 20 points for injury-riddled Orlando, which skidded to its seventh consecutive defeat.
The Magic, who lost by a point to the Heat earlier this month, erased an 11-point deficit with a 15-4 spurt to pull even at 68-68 late in the third quarter. James, who had eight points at the juncture, responded by scoring seven points in Miami's 10-0 closing run for a 78-68 lead after three.
The Heat applied the knockout punch at the outset of the fourth quarter as Allen buried a pair of 3-pointers to extend the lead to 88-70 with 9 1/2 minutes to play. Miami used a similar run at the end of the first half, getting three 3-pointers from Rashard Lewis in an 18-4 burst to carry a 55-46 lead into the break.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Allen and Chalmers hit four 3-pointers apiece as the Heat finished 15-of-28 from behind the arc to give coach Erik Spoelstra his 250th win. ... Wade sat out because of a sore right knee and is scheduled to be re-evaluated on Tuesday. ... Orlando was without C Nikola Vucevic (concussion), who averaged 22.5 points and 25 rebounds in two games against Miami this season. G Arron Afflalo, the Magic's leading scorer, also was out after suffering a season-ending hamstring injury on Friday night.
Miami | Orlando | |
LeBron James 24 | Scoring | Jameer Nelson 27 |
LeBron James 11 | Assists | Jameer Nelson 12 |
Udonis Haslem 10 | Rebounds | Maurice Harkless 9 |
LeBron James 6 | Free Throws Made | Beno Udrih 5 |
Mario Chalmers 3 | Steals | E'Twaun Moore 3 |
Chris Andersen 3 | Blocks | Tobias Harris 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Miami | 108 | 47.4 | 15-28 | 19-29 | 31 | 44 | 6 | 7 | 12 |
Orlando | 94 | 43.0 | 9-24 | 11-18 | 25 | 43 | 6 | 9 | 13 |