The Orlando Magic had long odds against them but found a way to win. Toppling the Miami Heat behind some strong play from Victor Oladipo at the end.
Danny Granger‘s corpse scored 21 points tonight. He made six three pointers. Hassan Whiteside shot 11 free throws by himself, where as a team the Magic shot 13 free throws total. The Heat shot 40 free throws overall. Dwyane Wade scored 15 points in the fourth quarter.
Oh, and the Magic WON 102-101. On the road. In Miami.
| Score | Off. Rtg. | eFG% | O.Reb.% | TO% | FTR | |
| Orlando | 102 | 115.0 | 60.4 | 21.1 | 14.5 | 16.9 |
| Miami | 101 | 114.0 | 57.9 | 18.8 | 14.8 | 63.5 |
Nikola Vucevic (ORL) — 26 pts., 9 rebs.; Victor Oladipo (ORL) — 22 pts.
Dwyane Wade (MIA) — 25 pts.; Danny Granger (MIA) — 21 pts., 6/7 3FGs
HOW IN THE WORLD DID THEY WIN?
If you had a checklist of things marking an Orlando loss just about every one of those things I just listed would be on there. This victory was probably the most savory victory the Magic have had since Tobias Harris‘ game winning dunk versus the Thunder. So let’s relive the action:
The first quarter was an offensive showdown or defensive struggle depending on how you saw it.
Nikola Vucevic and Victor Oladipo came out strong as they combined to score or assist on 16 of Orlando’s 26 first quarter points. On the other side of the ball the Magic did not fare nearly as well as they struggled to rotate properly which allowed the Heat to score 25 points in the first quarter including 19 of the 25 on open 3-pointers by Danny Granger, free throws and points in the paint.
Unfortunately for the Magic, a decaying Danny Granger was kept intact by powerful necromancy and he managed to scored nine more points on three 3-pointers.
The most disturbing trend that started to take place this quarter was the slow and painful march Miami made to the free throw line. The Heat attempted eight free throws in the quarter and that was just the beginning of the chaos. Orlando battled its way into halftime behind its 3-point shooting including some ballsy 3-pointers off the dribble from Victor Oladipo.
He was sizzling and confident, in a very good way.
The second half is where things got absolutely out of control.
The Heat shot 28 free throws in the second half. 28.
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The Magic in that same half only managed nine free throws. The officiating became so inconsistent that during multiple points in the second half Orlando’s usually balanced commentators Jeff Turner and David Steele openly questioned the lack of equality in foul calls.
Oh,; and Danny Granger’s cadaver finally started to cool down as he only managed six points in the second half.
Despite all this, Orlando showed a huge sign of growth. Last week against the Cavaliers when the calls all seemed to go against the Magic, they seemed to give up. Their body language was terrible. Nobody had any fight left.
That was not the case against the Heat. Orlando never put their heads down even in the face of a 15 Dwyane Wade points in the fourth quarter. Not in the face of the opposing team nearly out shooting them at the free throw line by 30. Not even Danny Granger’s horrifying re-enactment of The Walking Dead could stop them.
Tonight, the Magic were focused on winning.
To top it off the ending of the game could not have been more perfect.
Thunderous Intentions
Victor Oladipo completely obliterated Norris Cole off the dribble and forced the refs to call a foul with 6.3 seconds left. Oladipo hit one of two free throws and gave the Heat a chance to win.
On the inbounds, the incinerating Wade decided to settle for a contested jump shot all but taking the whistle away from the refs and he clanked it over Victor Oladipo and Elfrid Payton. A free throw and a missed shot by one of the most notorious Magic killers of all time lead to the W.
Perfection.
Game Notes:
- Dewayne Dedmon was ready to send a message in that fourth quarter. I cannot overstate how important it is to have a guy like this on the team. Dedmon was called for some questionable calls in the fourth and he went about his business. Dedmon played phenomenal defense against Chris Bosh. On plays where Orlando fouled Dedmon blocked shots after the call with authority. He was not letting anybody be it refs or players take away from his impact tonight.
- Channing Frye is just so horrible defensively. You cannot pair him with Nikola Vucevic. Jacque Vaughn has done a good job of keeping them separated recently but tonight he played them together a lot. As a result the Magic defense struggled mightily.
- Victor Oladipo did a great job of recovering from a poor first half. Oladipo had five turnovers in the first half and played shoddy defense up until the end of the game. The Magic struggled as a team with turnovers after recording just six against the Hornets on Saturday.
- Elfrid Payton closed out the game once again. This time his presence was felt defensively. Payton recognized how much time was left on the clock and decided to leave Norris Cole open and contest Wade’s shot.
Rookie Report:
Elfrid Payton: Payton once again proved just how useful he can be without being much of a threat to score. He tallied eight assists and only had two turnovers. He was a terror defensively grabbing four steals and nullifying Miami’s point guards. The biggest play of the entire game may very well have been Payton’s defense on Wade’s final shot. Payton came over late as Wade pulled away from Oladipo, recognizing there would not be enough time to pass and adding an extra challenge for Wade as time expired. The faith that Jacque Vaughn is showing in him is a great sign for his development as a player and for the Magic as they remain in the hunt for the playoffs.