Heat edge Magic
Turnover dooms rally in final seconds of preseason game
The Orlando Magic had a chance to pull off a victory Monday night at Miami, but a turnover off an inbounds pass after a timeout with 1.3 seconds left in the game summed up the way things went for the Magic at American Airlines Arena.
The Heat edged the Magic, earning a 90-89 victory.
Aaron Gordon hit a 3-pointer inside the two-minute mark to give Orlando its first lead of the second half at 89-88, but Rodney McGruder answered for the Heat to regain the lead.
Orlando’s Evan Fournier, who has struggled with his shot all preseason, missed a 3-pointer with 27 seconds left.
The Magic had one more chance, but the turnover doomed their rally.
So far this preseason, there has been one constant for the Orlando Magic and that’s been the same through the past six seasons. Through everything the Magic organization has endured, Nikola Vucevic has been the link that has kept the chain from unraveling, albeit barely.
Vucevic was his usual picture of consistency, but even he had his sluggish moments. He did, however, lead the Magic with 22 points and 14 rebounds.
Vucevic had Orlando’s first double-double of the preseason, but he didn’t get much help from his friends. The only other double-digit scorer was Jerian Grant, who had a pair of 3-pointers and finished with 17 points in 23 minutes.
Though the Magic trailed by just 52-42 at halftime, it seemed like the score should have been much worse.
Orlando had 11 turnovers in the first 24 minutes, four of which came from Jarell Martin in just eight minutes. Gordon and Fournier combined to hit just 3-of-14 field goals and Miami started to take advantage of its ability to get out on the break with several transition baskets late in the second quarter.
Gordon and Fournier were not the only ones misfiring early. Take away Vucevic’s 5-of-7 shooting in the opening two quarters and the Magic were just 12 of 38 (31 percent), including 2-of-9 from 3-point range. They also were outrebounded 24-18.
Heralded rookie Mohamed Bamba entered the game with 6:20 left in the first quarter, but his time on the floor in the first half made for minimal highlights. He did hit three of his first four shots, but he also had two fouls and just one rebound in 12 minutes.
Bamba’s second half wasn’t much better as he clanged a pair of open 3-pointers in the fourth