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Miami Heat vs Orlando Magic
Once again the Miami Heat found themselves in the breaking news cycle on a game day for no other than Jimmy Butler. Butler for the third time in a month would be suspended by the Heat organization after receiving word that moving forward he would no longer be starting making way for Haywood Highsmith. His reaction to this news is what got him suspended when Butler picked up his stuff and left Heat practice. The suspension is indefinitely but set to last five games as the trade deadline comes up. The Heat welcomed the Magic to the Kaseya Center.
It was a big statement from the Miami Heat duo of Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo who showed that they could do this without Jimmy Butler. Herro led the Heat in scoring with 30 points followed by Adebayo who dropped 26 points in one of his best games of the season. The rookie Kel'el Ware had a monster game as well scoring 19 points. Duncan Robinson hit some very clutch shots late in the game contributing with 15 points. Haywood Highsmith who replaced Butler in the starting lineup finished with four points. Off the bench it was Nikola Jovic dropping 15 points.
Leading the way for the Orlando Magic was Franz Wagner who forced the game to OT and dropped 29 points. Paolo Banchero followed Wagner contributing with 17 points followed by both Wendell Carter Jr and Anthony Block dropping 14 points. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope closed out the Orlando starting lineup scoring six points. Leading the way for the Orlando bench was Tristan Da Silva finishing the game with 17 points.
The Magic are currently 18-2 on the season in games it leads by double digits in the fourth quarter and both losses happen to be against the Heat. The Magic got Goga Bitadze back after being out for six games due to the concussion protocol. Orlando has had success when Bitadze is on the court going 22-15 and 2-9 when he doesn't play. The Heat have split the season series with the Magic 27 times in 36 seasons.
Miami would find themselves down 12 with six minutes remaining in the game but would go on a 15-3 run that helped them get to OT. The last time the Heat were down at least 14 in a fourth quarter and won the game was in 2022 against Charlotte. In OT the Heat took over with Adebayo and Herro draining buckets as well as defensive efforts from Ware. The Heat jump into 6th in the Eastern Conference with the 125-119 victory over the Magic.
Up next for the Miami Heat is a home game welcoming the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Kaseya Center.
Written by: Daniel Torres
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