Orlando Magic retake the state
The Orlando Magic exorcised at least one demon, taking a workmanlike win over the Miami Heat and the season series for the first time since 2009.
Nikola Vucevic was coy about what it meant to defeat the Miami Heat and take the season series after Friday’s 110-99 win.
There are bigger fish to fry and winning a season series against a division rival. A victory over the Heat is not going to change the results for this season.
That does not mean it does not feel good when it happens.
"“One of the things that I was saying coming into the season was to take care of our state before anything else,” Aaron Gordon told Orlando Magic Daily after Friday’s game. “We accomplished that, there are more goals to be accomplished.”"
There is undoubtedly an extra juice to the games that happen in the Amway Center between the Orlando Magic and the Heat. These teams are rivals, even if it is more a sibling rivalry.
And for the past four years, the Heat dominated the rivalry completely. Some of the Magic’s biggest wins and most devastating losses were to the Heat.
Nikola Vucevic set a team record for rebounds in a single game in an overtime loss to the Heat on New Year’s Eve in front of one of the largest crowds in Amway Center history. The Magic saw LeBron James hit several game-winning baskets to break the chance at an upset — and then saw him take vengeance on them the next time out with a big game.
Orlando was frustrated time and time again. When the Magic did defeat the Heat — a Victor Oladipo pair of free throws marked one of two Magic victories in the series since Dwight Howard‘s departure before this year — it truly meant something.
Even last year’s 112-109 home win over the Heat had a lot of meaning to it without James and company in the fold.
Orlando Magic
And even though these were one game, it was easy to see how much those victories meant to the players. That Heat jersey has caused a lot of torment in the last four years.
"“I feel like since I’ve been here we did have had a lot of good games against them and a lot of close ones,” Vucevic told Orlando Magic Daily after Friday’s game. “The times when they had LeBron and Bosh and Wade together, I don’t think we beat them once. But we had a lot of close games against them. It feels good. They’re a good team. Especially the way they have been playing lately, for us to beat them twice is good for us.”"
The Heat have won 17 of their past 21 games. Two of those losses have come to the Magic. Orlando has figured out how to be a matchup problem for Miami, driving them a little crazy in the process.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra tipped his hat to the Magic, crediting them for out-speeding and out-quicking the Heat in the three straight victories this season.
Orlando had to gut out an overtime win over Miami, making some incredible plays down the stretch in the first win in December. The team put together another solid defensive effort in Serge Ibaka‘s last game with the Magic a few weeks ago. And then Friday the team dominated the entire game for what was a relatively comfortable win.
The loss Friday left the Heat frustrated.
"“It is kind of frustrating when you are losing against the team that basically is already planning for vacation,” Goran Dragic said after the game."
That is not quite how the Magic felt the last several years. The Magic were always the underdogs. But the frustration of not getting a win was real too. Both inside and outside the arena.
No doubt, the Heat’s rise to the top of the standings while the Magic fell on hard times shifted the balance of power in the past five years. Orlando won its first season series against Miami since 2009.
In that time, the Amway Center has become something of a battleground. Games against the Heat have been one of the toughest tickets to get. The season opener this year against the Heat had the largest attendance for a Magic game in Amway Center history.
The unfortunate part for the Magic is that crowd is often a 50-50 split (if that at times). That is the reality of playing a team with some big-name players and a team so close geographically. Heat fans still find their way into the Amway Center — although to a lesser degree now that the Heat have lost their stars.
As Heat fans tried to start chants Friday, Magic fans quickly drowned them out. And then ultimately Orlando drowned them all out with the team’s play, the only thing that matters in the end.
That battle will continue as both franchises try to find their way forward.
Rivalries do create admiration too. Coach Frank Vogel said the Magic are trying to build a winning culture like the Heat have, being able to withstand some major roster changes.
The Magic’s season series victory over the Heat is not going to make up for the frustration this season. It is probably a little blip on the radar for the season as a whole. A minor victory in a season that is overall disappointing.
But it does have meaning. Magic fans can puff their chests around the state about something. And maybe that helps keep the fan base engaged for something positive.
At long last, though, the Magic can cheer about something. Something at least tangentially important and significant.
Next: Grades: Orlando Magic 110, Miami Heat 99
A lot of the emotion and importance of this rivalry dulled with many of the stars departing. But judging by the buzz within the Amway Center and the confidence it instilled in the team afterward, the Magic’s win over the Heat on Friday was more than just one win.