|
 Dwight Howard scored 16 points with 13 rebounds and Maurice Evans added 13 points for the Southeast Division-leading Magic (29-18), who have won the last eight meetings between the Sunshine State rivals.
Ricky Davis scored 21 points and Luke Jackson and Chris Quinn added 14 apiece for the Heat, who fell to 9-35.
Miami -- which was coming off Tuesday's 117-87 beating at home against Boston
-- played without Dwyane Wade (flu), Shaquille O'Neal (hip) and Udonis Haslem (ankle), and trailed most of the way in what became its 17th loss in the past 18 games.
But that didn't mean the Heat couldn't make things interesting.
Daequan Cook's jumper with 11 minutes remaining drew Miami within 83-80, and the Heat were clearly thinking upset.
From there, though, it was all Orlando.
An 18-1 run turned a close game into another Magic-Miami rout. In the teams' last four meetings at Orlando, the Magic have prevailed by an average of 23 points.
It was the first time since O'Neal was traded to Miami that he, Wade and Haslem all missed a game. And the diminished bench seemed to take a toll on the Heat down the stretch. Miami shot 28 percent (5-for-18) in the final quarter, getting outscored 24-15.
Dorell Wright scored 12 points, Jason Williams had 11 points and eight assists and Mark Blount finished with 10 points for Miami, which was outrebounded 52-29.
The first half essentially went like this: Orlando would pound the ball inside, and Miami would pound whomever was the recipient of those entry passes.
The Magic led 63-52 at intermission, bolstered by an 18-for-21 showing from the foul line in the first two quarters, while Miami shot 6-for-10 from the stripe. Howard (8-for-11 in the half) topped Miami in both makes and attempts from the line in the first 24 minutes.
[to top of second column]
 |
For the second straight night, the Heat opened poorly from the floor; Tuesday, it was a 3-for-23 first-quarter effort that helped doom Miami against Boston, and on Wednesday, they got off to a 1-for-9 start.
But this one didn't get away, unlike the 30-point debacle against the Celtics.
Jackson hit a 3-pointer late in the first to tie the game at 20, and Williams connected on two free throws 28 seconds later to give Miami its first lead.
From there, though, Orlando started flexing its muscle.
Carlos Arroyo's jumper with 6:50 left in the half gave Orlando its first double-digit lead, 44-34, and the margin reached 13 later in the second quarter before the Magic settled for the 11-point cushion at halftime.
Miami got within 76-71 with 4:20 left in the third when Williams' perfect bounce pass split two defenders and got to Wright for an easy layup. But Turkoglu scored Orlando's next six points and the Magic took an 83-76 lead into the fourth.
Notes: Magic guard Jameer Nelson played for the first time in six games since straining his right foot earlier this month, and finished with four points and three assists in 14 minutes. ... O'Neal hasn't played in three of Miami's last four trips to Orlando, his first NBA home. ... Miami's Cook wasn't selected for the rookie challenge at All-Star weekend in New Orleans. "It would have been great to be a part of, but it's time to move on now," Cook said. ... Not the recommended way to get on an official's good side: Turkoglu knocked the ball out of bounds in the third quarter
-- and it smacked unsuspecting referee Luis Grillo in the face.
[Associated Press; By TIM REYNOLDS]
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
|
