Magic outscore Heat 37–8 in 4th quarter, overcome 25-point deficit for 121–114 win

On By Littum

The story of Saturday’s matchup between the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic was Jimmy Butler missing the game due to illness. Suffering from a stomach bug, Butler left Friday’s loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first quarter and did not travel with the Heat to Orlando.

Still, the big takeaway from Miami’s 121-114 loss to the Magic is that the Heat blew a 25-point lead and were outscored 37-8 in the fourth quarter.

Cole Anthony scored 35 points off the bench, including 27 in the second half, to fuel Orlando’s comeback. The fifth-year guard also had eight rebounds and nine assists in what was easily his best game of the season.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 24 points, while Goga Bitadze scored 18 points with 13 rebounds. With the win, the Magic improved to 18–12 and extended their lead over Miami in the Southeast Division to three games. Orlando also maintained the No. 4 spot in the Eastern Conference standings.

The Heat took a 63–38 lead with 5:17 left in the fourth quarter on a Kel’el Ware dunk. They led 76–56 at halftime and increased the margin to 106–84 after three quarters. But Miami fell apart over the ensuing 12 minutes as Orlando went on a 12-0 run to begin the fourth.

Midway through the frame, the Magic cut the margin to eight points. Orlando finally took the lead on a Caldwell-Pope jumper with 2:43 left in regulation. Miami shot 2-for-18 from the floor in the quarter, including 0-for-8 on 3-pointers.

Teams that have a 22-point lead entering the fourth quarter do not lose, then Associated Press’ Tim Reynolds pointed out. Going back five years, those teams went 796–0 by such a margin.

Bam Adebayo and Terry Rozier each scored 23 points to lead the Heat, while Tyler Herro followed with 22 points, six rebounds and five assists. Filling in for Butler, Dru Smith scored 14 and Nikola Jović contributed just four after moving into the starting lineup.

Orlando was without Jalen Suggs, who suffered a sprained ankle in Thursday’s 105-99 loss to the Thunder. That meant the Magic were without their top three scorers, with Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner recovering from oblique injuries.

The Heat face the Brooklyn Nets on Monday before playing the Magic again on Thursday. Orlando follows up its big comeback win with a matchup against the Boston Celtics on Monday.