The Miami Heat will try to avoid a third loss in four games Thursday night when they host the Orlando Magic. The Magic will be going for their sixth win in seven games.
The Miami Heat (43-17, 22-6 home) went 9-3 in February. All three of the Heat’s losses in the month came against teams that will likely be Eastern Conference playoff teams. They are coming off of a 91-86 home loss to New York on Sunday in which they blew a 15-point lead.
In the last meeting between the Florida rivals, LeBron James exploded for 51 points with 23 coming in the opening quarter. He also added 11 rebounds and eight assists as the Heat won 104-100. They led by as many as 23 points before Orlando made a frantic rally in the last six minutes to make things interesting.
The Orlando Magic (39-22, 15-13 away) fell to 1-2 against Miami in the season series with the aforementioned 104-100 loss on Feb. 3. Dwight Howard had 17 points and 16 rebounds in the losing effort, but he only had one point after halftime and was 3 for 13 from the free throw line.
The Magic are on the verge of their first winning streak of four or more games since they won nine in a row Dec. 23-Jan. 8. They are coming off of a 116-100 win over New York on Tuesday. Howard had 30 points and 16 rebounds to help his team overcome a 58-47 halftime deficit. Jameer Nelson played an important role in the comeback, scoring 23 of his 26 points in the second half.
I'm a basketball fan from Vancouver, Canada. Losing the Grizzlies was bitter-sweet. They sucked balls, so I never really started supporting them, but now I only get to catch games on TV.