By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo Credit: USA Today
The Orlando Magic rallied to defeat the Miami Heat, 117-108, tonight in the NBA Cup quarterfinals in Orlando.
Norman Powell recorded 21 points, seven rebounds, and 4 three three-pointers. Tyler Herro returned from his injury. He finished with 20 points, seven rebounds, and three assists.
Miami got off to a strong start at the beginning of the game. In the early minutes of the first quarter, the Heat jumped to a 15-0 lead. Everyone was getting touches and making the right plays. But that didn’t last long as the Magic rallied and put on a shooting clinic.
“An early lead at the beginning of the game is nothing,” Coach Erik Spoelstra said after the game. “You have to complete quarters and possessions all the way through. So they were able to work their way through it, as you know, as it often does. They had a huge second quarter. We could have gotten a few more stops, but they had 40 points that quarter and followed up with 33 and 28. We had some open looks there in the fourth quarter, but we’ve been struggling with this concept recently. If we’re not making shots, we’re not able to get tough defensive stops. We could not get enough stops.”
The Magic certainly had a strong second and third quarter. Desmond Bane tortured Miami’s defense. He finished with a team-high 37 points along with six rebounds and 6 three three-pointers for the Magic, while Jalen Suggs added 20 points, four assists, and three rebounds in the game.
Magic outrebounded Heat 47-39. Magic hit 47 percent of their threes while Miami just shot 24 percent.
The Magic improve their record to 15-10 with the win, while the Heat fall to 14-11.
Miami will head to Brooklyn to take in the Nets on Thursday at 7:30 pm ET.
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com and themmmjournal@gmail.com
X: @mmm_sportnfilms, Instagram: @miguel_passionforsports and @themmmjournal, LinkedIn: The MMM Journal, TikTok: @miguelmikemedina
