Magic finally snap lengthy losing streak on the road against Florida rival

It's a new day.

The Orlando Magic are undefeated on the year as they get their first victory of the season by snapping a 9-game road losing streak to the Jimmy Butler-led Miami Heat.

Third-year superstar forward Paolo Banchero said enough is enough. His aggression at the beginning and throughout the game reminded fans of a player who has had it with losing on the road to a team in the same state. This was Banchero's time to show the world that he is what Draymond Green said he is—"One of those ones." Meaning we are watching the young career of one of the best players to ever touch a basketball.

Banchero was clearly the best player on the court in the season opener—a game that featured six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler and three-time All-Star Bam Adebayo on the opposing side. It didn't matter who was on the other side of the court in this game. Banchero and company were not going to be denied.

We learned a lot after watching the season opener, but two things stood out: the Magic wanted to snap this road losing streak, and they took those three losses from last year personally. This seemed more of a passing of the torch type of game than anything else.

The Magic have come a long way

The road losing streak against the Miami Heat started way back when Banchero was still young. Now, he is grown and starting off his third season as a pro. He is a guy who doesn't fear an opposing player, and he has the swag and skill set to do whatever he wants. His skill set isn't limited like some of the players who were on the Magic the last time they won in Miami.

The last time the Orlando Magic beat the Heat in Miami was on March 26, 2019, when Nikola Vucevic put up 24 points and 16 rebounds. To put it in a better perspective: Aaron Gordon chipped in 19 points in the victory as well, and the Magic beat the Heat 104-99. Gordon and the Denver Nuggets just agreed to an extension that will pay him about $133 million in the next few years. It’s been a while since he has worn a Magic uniform.

Since January 27, 2020, when the Magic fell 113-92 to the Heat, Orlando has lost every game they played against the Heat in Miami. In that game, Adebayo dominated the Magic, recording a triple-double with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. Butler followed his lead in the victory, adding 19 points and seven assists. Those two guys were clearly better than anyone on the Magic back then.

But that's not the case anymore or at least it wasn't last night. The Magic had the player who was more dominant than everyone else and led all scorers with 33 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 assists.

This is a great sign for the Magic going forward. This could be a glimpse into the future and the current outlook on the landscape in the Eastern Conference. The Miami Heat are a very good team, led by Erik Spoelstra, who some call the best coach in basketball behind Gregg Popovich. The Heat also have championship aspirations after they lost to the Denver Nuggets in the 2023 NBA Finals.

And yet, the Magic put them in a chokehold.

The combination of Jalen Suggs and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope defending the perimeter and a defensive menace like Banchero behind them proved to be too much for the Heat. This is a large part of why the Magic were able to end the streak too. The team combined for eight steals in the matchup, and a lot of those steals led to easy transition baskets for Orlando.

So, the road losing streak to the Miami Heat is over, and now the Orlando Magic have the opportunity to start a road winning streak against the Heat. We will see if the tides have truly turned in this in-state rivalry on January 27, when the Magic will have a chance to extend the road-winning steak against the Heat—five years after the road-losing streak to the Heat began.