Magic 121-114 Heat (December 21, 2024) Game Recap

ORLANDO, Fla. – Cole Anthony scored 27 of his 35 points in the second half and the Orlando Magic staged their greatest comeback in franchise history, defeating the Miami Heat 121-114 after trailing by 25 points on Saturday night.

The Magic also trailed by 22 points early in the fourth quarter before outscoring the Heat 37-8. Their 25-point comeback represents a new mark set on November 8, 1989 against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Anthony also had eight rebounds and nine assists. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 24 points and Goga Bitadze added 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Magic, who lost center Mo Wagner to a knee injury in the first quarter and center Wendell Carter Jr. to an ejection before halftime.

Bam Adebayo and Terry Rozier led Miami with 23 points each, and Tyler Herro added 22.

Wagner suffered a left knee injury and did not return. Guard Jalen Suggs was a late loss after suffering an ankle injury on Thursday night.

Takeaways

Heat: Playing without Jimmy Butler, the Heat went cold in the fourth quarter and blew their lead.

Magic: After Carter was sent off before halftime for challenging Kel’el Ware for a goalie no-call, the Magic were left with just one player (Caldwell-Pope) starting their season opener in Miami.

Key moment

Despite having to look to their bench, the Magic erased a 22-point deficit and took the lead on a short jump shot from Caldwell-Pope with 2:41 left.

Key statistics

The Heat made eight of their first 17 3-point shots before missing 14 of their next 15.

Next

On Monday night, the Heat host the Brooklyn Nets and the Magic host the Boston Celtics.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba