Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Orlando Magic. All opinions expressed by John Denton are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Orlando Magic or their Basketball Operations staff, partners or sponsors.
By John DentonApril 10, 2016
MIAMI – Forced to play without ace defenders Victor Oladipo and Aaron Gordon because of debilitating concussions, the short-handed Orlando Magic were mostly defenseless on Sunday and unable to repeat the feat of beating the Heat.
The Magic dealt rival Miami a crippling loss on Friday, but they never threatened to do the same on Sunday in South Florida as the Heat shot 55.8 percent and won 118-96 at American Airlines Arena.
Orlando (34-46) came into Sunday having won five of its last seven games, but it proved to be extremely difficult to keep that stirring run alive because of the inability to get stops. The Heat opened the game by making 12 of their first 16 shots and they pushed a seven-point halftime lead to 20 by the start of the fourth.
Evan Fournier, Orlando’s best player throughout the second half of the season, had 21 points and five assists, but it wasn’t nearly enough. Nikola Vucevic (19 points) and Mario Hezonja (10 points) got off to fast starts, but their play tailed off as the game went along. Hezonja, the prized No. 5 pick from last June’s NBA Draft, got the seventh start of his NBA career and drilled his first four shots, but he didn’t scratch over the game’s final three periods.
Devyn Marble, one of the heroes of Friday’s win, had nine points off the Magic bench.
In addition to shooting nearly 60 percent throughout the game, the Heat also made 26 of 30 free throws and hit six 3-pointers. Orlando made 15 of 19 free throws and had seven 3-pointers.
Oladipo, Orlando’s second-leading scorer at 16 points per game, suffered a concussion on Friday night when he was hit above the left eye by a Hassan Whiteside elbow. Gordon, who has blossomed as a starter the past 37 games, was hit by an accidental elbow on Wednesday and missed his second straight game on Sunday.
Gordon cleared the first hurdle in the NBA’s concussion protocol on Sunday and could play in Wednesday’s regular-season finale. Oladipo, who has suffered two concussions in the past six months, is likely done for the season.
Center Hassan Whiteside got his first start since the break for the NBA All-Star Game and continued to batter the Magic on the inside. He had 18 points, 15 rebounds and two blocked shots. Luol Deng (20 points) dominated his matchup against Orlando’s Ersan Ilyasova (scoreless in 17 minutes) and Dwyane Wade and Goran Dragic chipped in 17 and 19 points, respectively. Gerald Green poured in 15 off the bench.
Miami (47-33) pulled back into a tie with Boston for the fourth and fifth seeds and one game behind Atlanta for third. The Hawks have road games left at Cleveland and Detroit. The Heat plays in Detroit on Tuesday and in Boston on Wednesday. The Celtics, who own the tiebreaker over the Heat, hosts Charlotte on Monday before closing with the home game against Miami.
The Magic and Heat were playing for the first time since Orlando won 112-109 on Friday night at the Amway Center. That victory ended a seven-game skid in Orlando to the Heat, but the Magic couldn’t stop a losing streak in South Florida that stretched to three games. With Sunday’s win, the Heat won the season series for a fourth straight season – this time 3-1.
Orlando will be back at the Amway Center on Monday night to face the Milwaukee Bucks for the final home game of the season. The Magic made great strides this season in defending their home court better and have already secured a winning record at the Amway Center at 22-18.
Orlando trailed by just seven at the half, but it saw that deficit grow to 89-69 by the end of the third period. The Magic simply couldn’t slow down Miami as the Heat hit 13 of 21 shots (61.9 percent) in the period and outscored Orlando 33-20.
Fournier did his best to keep the Magic within striking distance, scoring 13 of Orlando’s 20 points in the third period. He drilled two 3-pointers and got to the rim for three layups.
The Magic played well on the offensive end of the floor early on, but they had little-to-no success in slowing down Miami in a first half that left them trailing 56-49. The Heat didn’t miss a shot until the game was 5 minutes old and they shelled Orlando for 12 of 16 shooting (75 percent) in the first quarter. Miami cooled off quite a bit in the second quarter, but it still stood at 52.8 percent at the half against the Magic.
Hezonja got the start in place of Oladipo and started the game with a flurry. He made his first four shots, including two 3-pointers, for 10 first-quarter points.
Vucevic, who has a long history of playing well against the Heat, was strong from the start once again. He drilled his first four shots and had 12 points and rebounds by halftime.
Fournier demolished the Heat on Friday with 28 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. He struggled somewhat with his shot early Sunday, but he still gave the Magic eight points, four assists and two rebounds in the first half.
