The Miami Heat traveled across Florida to face their neighbor rivals the Orlando Magic in one last preview before their NBA Cup quarter-final matchup this upcoming week at the Kia Center. Miami arrived without Tyler Herro, who is expected to be out for a few weeks with a toe injury, while the Magic had their star Paolo Banchero return from a 10-game absence due to a left groin strain — which proved to be the energy boost Orlando needed after suffering a tough loss at home against the Wemby-less San Antonio Spurs earlier this week.

The story of the game was Franz Wagner with 32 points, who led Orlando to a big comeback after trailing at halftime and then taking a big lead early in the third quarter. “It was an uphill battle from there,” said Coach Erik Spoelstra during the postgame press conference. Spoelstra was surprised to find out after the game that Adebayo moved to third on the Miami Heat’s All-Time scoring list, passing Glen Rice (9,248). Adebayo, who came into the league as a defender in Spo’s own words, now trails only Alonzo Mourning (9,459) and, of course, Dwyane Wade at the top (21,556). “That’s a testament to his consistency.”

Adebayo missed the game winner after a contested three-pointer by Wendell Carter Jr. but still finished with 24 points and 15 rebounds, only behind Norman Powell’s 28-point effort, who was questionable pregame with an ankle injury but entered the starting lineup due to Herro’s absence. That wasn’t enough though, as Orlando edged Miami 106–105 in a well-contested game.

Paolo is Back

On the Magic end, Banchero returned from injury and finished with nine points, but the entire team is excited — including tonight’s leading scorer (32) Franz Wagner. “I think he played great,” Wagner said of Banchero. “Obviously, being 10 games out, you’ve got to find a rhythm a little bit. But I like the way he played in the flow of our offense and also making plays defensively. It always takes a couple minutes and games to get back into the swing of things. I’m excited for him.”

“We made one more play than them today,” Franz Wagner added. “It’s good to come out with a win. It’s important to learn from today. Obviously, we play them again in a couple games.”

The winner of next week’s game between the Magic and the Heat will head out to Las Vegas, Nevada for the tournament’s semifinals.