The story goes into Saturday’s matchup between Miami Heat and Orlando Magic where Jimmy Butler missed the game due to illness. Suffering from stomach ailment, Butler left Friday’s loss to 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 retained the number 4 spot standings in the Eastern Conference.
The Heat took a 63–38 lead with 5:17 left in the fourth quarter on a Kel’el Ware thump. 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 open 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, because Associated Press Tim Reynolds pointed out. Going back five years, those teams went 796–0 by such a margin.
Teams with a lead of 22 points or more entering the fourth quarter had gone 796-0 in NBA games since December 22, 2019.
The Heat led by 22 going into the fourth tonight.
The final: Magic 121, Heat 114.
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) December 22, 2024
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 got 14 and Nikola Jovic contributed just four after being moved into the starting XI.
Orlando was without Jalen suggestswho suffered a sprained ankle Thursday’s 105–99 loss to the thunder. That meant the Magic were missing their top three scorers as well Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner recovering from oblique injuries.
The heat is facing Brooklyn Nets on Monday before playing Magic again next Thursday. Orlando follows up its big comeback win with a matchup against Boston Celtics on Monday.
