Tuesday night, the HEAT played the Magic in the NBA cup quarterfinals in Orlando. Both Miami & Orlando featured top 10 defenses.
This was both teams 5th game since preseason. The Heat came into this game losing 3 in a row & 2 straight in this series to the Magic. Orlando was without Franz Wagner.
The 1Q was all Miami, as the Heat start hot on a 15-0 run in the first few minutes!
Tyler Herro looked fine from his recent toe injury.
Orlando was playing with no defensive resistance as the Heat were in charge early.
At the end of the first quarter it was Heat 30, Magic 17. Herro and Powell combined for 17 points together.
Miami missed some easy shots late in the quarter, but still lead. Orlando shot 28.6% --and had a lot of open ones.
On one hand, Miami's offense slowed significantly after that initial burst and it was back to looking more like how the previous 4 Magic matchups looked.
On the other hand, Orlando's shot quality started poor and never really improved in the first quarter.
In the 2Q there was an energy shift as the momentum shifted back to Orlando.
The Heat's Offensive Rating was, literally, 180+ through the first few minutes of the game & went Down significantly in the second quarter. The Magic went on a 20-9 run in about 6 minutes of game time to go from 16 down to then leading.
It was a back & forth 1st half. Orlando with a pushback In the 2Q.
back on @NBAonPrime In the 3Q
OKAY NORM 💪After an 18-2 start, the Heat were outscored 78-55. There were lots of out-of-control shots from Miami, which contributed to Heat 3pt shooting struggles continuing. The Magic went up 89-83 going into the fourth quarter. Miami wasn’t able to get to their pace after their impressive 1Q.
In the 4Q the game started getting away from Miami. Desmond Bane was lighting Miami up & taking over. It was a rough game for Jaquez Jr. and Wiggins. Norm Powell cooled of and the defense disengaged. Orlando's length & physicality bothered the Heat all night.
Miami couldn’t get stops when they needed to.
Miami lost their offensive juice lately.
The Heat are on 4 game losing streak.
They couldn’t defend in the competitive moments of truth.
FINAL: HEAT 108, Magic 117
Powell: 21pts, 7rebs, 3stls
Herro: 20pts, 7rebs
Adebayo: 19pts, 8rebs, 3blks
Wiggins: 19pts
Mitchell: 11pts, 9asts
Jaquez Jr.: 10pts