Desmond Bane tied his season high with 37 points, and the Orlando Magic overcame a sluggish start before defeating the Miami Heat 117-108 in the NBA Cup on Tuesday night.
Orlando trailed by 16 points in the opening four minutes. The Magic then used a 39-27 second quarter to flip the game and cruise to victory, leading by as many as 14 points.
The Magic improved to 5-0 in NBA Cup play and advances to meet the winner of Tuesday’s second contest between the New York Knicks and Toronto Raptors.
Magic storm back from slow start
Few double-digit leads in the NBA seem safe these days. Still, it feels like a long time since I’ve seen a first half take a 180-degree turn the way Tuesday night’s Heat-Magic quarterfinal did.
Miami stormed to a 15-0 lead, and Orlando could not generate any stops or turnovers and, therefore, could not push forward in transition. If the last few seasons have taught the NBA nothing else about the Magic (other than how hard the team plays and its physicality, especially on defense), it’s that the Magic offense has been weak when opponents force them to play in the half-court.
Orlando no doubt initially felt the absence of its best two-way player, Franz Wagner, who suffered a left high-ankle sprain Sunday. Without Wagner, the Magic looked rudderless … at first.
What changed?
The Magic finally ramped up their defense, keyed by Jonathan Isaac off the bench and, critically, a steal early in the second quarter by Desmond Bane off Pelle Larsson near the Magic’s defensive basket.
Bane was Orlando’s best player in the first half, with 12 points, three rebounds and three assists as he helped steady things from Orlando’s perspective.
Usually, the Magic’s road map for success is to get stops and live-ball turnovers to give themselves a reasonable chance offensively, before opponents set their defense. On Tuesday night, however, Orlando generated only eight turnovers and just 14 fast-break points. Meanwhile, Orlando received better-than-usual 3-point shooting, going 15 for 32 from beyond the arc. Talk about flipping the usual script — that’s what the Magic did.
Miami missed a ton of open 3s, going eight for 33 from beyond the arc. That’s usually how Orlando has shot from distance in key games. Again, a flipped script.
Their NBA Cup quarterfinal win Tuesday night was one of the franchise’s most consequential single-game wins since Dwight Howard left the franchise in 2012 via trade.
To do it against their in-state rival, the Heat, who have won three NBA titles since their inception in 1988, must have made the night more satisfying for the Magic and their fans. — Josh Robbins, NBA writer
This story will be updated