Heat suffer their worst loss of season
Magic had NBA’s worst record; Miami drops its fourth in a row.
The Heat have had plenty
MIAMI — of bad losses this season. Losses to the Kings and Nets come to mind.
But Monday’s 111-109 loss to the Magic at AmericanAirlines Arena is up there. Orlando (16-36)
entered with the league’s worst record and was 4-21 over its past
25 games. The Heat (29-25) have dropped four straight, with a Wednesday home game against the potent Rockets up next.
Miami trailed by as much as 14 points in the fourth quarter, but rallied with a 16-2 run to tie the game at 109 with 2:53 to play. The Heat didn’t score again, though, and missed their final five shots, as the Magic made the winning basket on a Jonathon Simmons dunk with 1:31 to play.
Mario Hezonja led Orlando with 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting.
The Heat shot 43 percent from the field, and made just 3 of 23 3-pointers. Josh Richardson scored a team-high 20 points for the Heat.
Center/forward Kelly Olynyk exited the game in the first quarter with a strained left shoulder. He never returned.
Here are five takeaways from the game:
Can’t stop the Magic’s offense: Orlando entered the game ranked 21st out of 30 teams in offensive rating. But Orlando couldn’t be stopped Monday. The Magic scored their 111 points on 48.8 percent shooting fromthe fifield and 13- of- 30 percent shooting from 3- point range.
It’s just a continuation of some recent defensive slippage for the Heat. Miami has allowed an average of 108.3 points on 50.2 percent shooting over the past three games.
Live by the three, die by the three: The Heat take a lot of 3- pointers. Some nights, that’s good. On Monday, itwas bad. Miami, which entered with the seventh-most threes attempted in the league this season, was outscored 39- 9 from beyond the arc. Miami is 1- 8 this season when it fifinishes with seven or fewer made 3- pointers.
Whiteside watches fourthquarter from bench … again: It looked like Hassan Whiteside was on his way to a dominant performance in his return from a stomach illness that forced him to miss Saturday’s loss to the Pistons. Whiteside scored the Heat’s first nine points, and recorded 15 points and 11 rebounds in the fifirst half. But he finished with 19 points and14 rebounds, as he spent the final 16: 06 of the game on the bench. Whiteside did not play in thef ourth quarter. Instead, rookie Bam Adebayo was on the court for all but 13 seconds of the fourth quarter. Adebayo finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Another new Heat starting lineup: Miami used its 17th different starting lineup of the season. This time, coach Erik Spoelstra went with Goran Dragic, Josh Richardson, Justise Winslow, Olynyk and Whiteside as the starting five. The group had played just three minutes together this season. The lineup didn’t getmuch playing time together Monday either, but it was still productive. The five- man combination outscored the Magic20- 10over the fifirst6: 19 of the game before Olynyk exited the contest.
A look at the standings: After dropping from fourth to seventh place in the Eastern Conference over thepast week, the Heat continue to move in the wrong direction in the standings. Even after Monday’s loss, Miami remains No. 7 in the East.
Waiters thrilled by Eagles’ Super win Dion Waiters’ Heat teammates were happy for him after the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New England Patriots in Sunday’s Super Bowl. Waiters, born and raised in Philadelphia and a passionate Eagles fan, is shown in a video hopping around on his right leg, his left in a green cast after having surgery on his ankle lastmonth that ended his season. Waiters then collapses on a bed with family members, his hands covering his face as he starts to cry. Wayne Ellington, whowas born in Wynnewood, Pa., northwest of Philadelphia, also is a fan, but not as passionate as Waiters. “I was excited. Iwas happy,” Ellington said. “Dion’s probably a little stronger of an Eagles fan than me so it hit him harder. … No crying for me.”