The Miami Heat and Orlando Magic will aim to end their respective two-game losing skids at the other’s expense on Sunday when the Sunshine State rivals meet in Orlando, Fla.
Atlanta’s Dejounte Murray had a hand in a loss for both teams. Murray drained a 17-foot jumper as time expired to give the Hawks a 106-104 win over Orlando on Wednesday. He then sank a 3-pointer with two seconds left in a 109-108 victory over Miami on Friday.
Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro each scored 25 points and Bam Adebayo collected 21 points and nine rebounds on Friday for the Heat, who came up short on Udonis Haslem’s jersey retirement night.
“I’m sick we lost this game, just because he embodies winning,” Adebayo said of Haslem, per the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “I’m really down we lost this game on his night. He’s probably going to call me at 4 a.m. because he won’t be able to sleep.”
Caleb Martin added 10 points and eight boards after being inserted into the starting lineup in place of veteran Kyle Lowry.
“With Jaime (Jaquez Jr.) out, there are some moving parts with this,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of decision to adjust his lineup, per the Sun-Sentinel. “I’m not going to be just experimenting the second half. This is about winning right now. But the combinations and lineups do matter, and having Kyle kind of anchor that second unit while Jaime’s out, I think is important.”
Jaquez, an effective rookie with 14.0 points per game, has not played since last Sunday because of a groin injury.
Herro scored 28 points in Miami’s 115-106 win in Orlando on Dec. 20, and Duncan Robinson poured in 23 in the Heat’s 99-96 victory over the visiting Magic on Jan 12.
Orlando finds itself in a bit of tailspin with losses in five of its past six games, including a 124-109 setback to the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday. The Magic trimmed a 13-point deficit down to four at 77-73 midway into the third before the 76ers ignited a 12-3 run.
“Turnovers and fouls; I think we turned it over (and) they went on an easy run,” Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley said. “Got a couple baskets, so that pushed the lead up. Then we fouled when we didn’t have to. That was a lot of the game right there.”
Wendell Carter Jr. recorded season-high totals in points (25) and rebounds (11) on Friday. Carter’s heroics helped the bench account for 69 points.
Starters Jalen Suggs and Paolo Banchero combined to score 30 points, albeit on 10-of-25 shooting from the floor.
Banchero boasts team-leading averages in points (22.7), rebounds (7.1) and assists (4.9). He rebounded from a dismal 2-for-12 shooting performance in last month’s encounter versus Miami by contributing 25 points, eight boards and six assists against the Heat on Jan. 12.
Cole Anthony scored a team-high 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting against Miami on Dec. 20. He was limited to just three points after misfiring on all five of his attempts from the floor on Friday.
–Field Level Media