The story going into Saturday’s game between the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic was that Jimmy Butler missed the game due to illness. Suffering from a stomach flu, Butler left Friday’s first-quarter loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder and did not travel with the Heat to Orlando.
But the big takeaway from Miami’s 121-114 loss to the Magic is that the Heat squandered a 25-point lead and were outscored 37-8 in the fourth quarter.
Cole Anthony scored 35 points off the bench, including 27 in the second half, fueling the Orlando comeback. The fifth-year guard also had eight rebounds and nine assists in what was by far his best game of the season.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 24 points, while Goga Bitadze scored 18 points with 13 rebounds. With the win, the Magic improved to 18-12 and extended their lead over Miami in the Southeast Division to three games. Orlando also held on to fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings.
The Heat took a 63-38 lead with 5:17 left in the fourth quarter on a Kel’el Ware dunk. They led 76-56 at halftime and increased the margin to 106-84 after three quarters. But Miami fell apart over the next 12 minutes as Orlando went on a 12-0 run to start the fourth.
Midway through the frame, the Magic cut the margin to eight points. Orlando finally took the lead on a Caldwell-Pope jumper with 2:43 remaining in regulation. Miami shot 2-for-18 from the floor in the quarter, including 0-for-8 on three-pointers.
Teams with a 22-point lead entering the fourth quarter don’t lose, as Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press noted. Five years ago, those teams went by such a margin 796-0.
Teams with leads of 22 points or more entering the fourth quarter had gone 796-0 in NBA games since December 22, 2019.
Heat led by 22 entering the fourth tonight.
The final: Magic 121, Heat 114.
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) December 22, 2024
Bam Adebayo and Terry Rozier each scored 23 points to lead the Heat, while Tyler Herro followed with 22 points, six rebounds and five assists. Coming on as a substitute for Butler, Dru Smith scored 14 and Nikola Jović contributed just four after being moved into the starting line-up.
Orlando was without Jalen Suggs, who suffered an ankle sprain in Thursday’s 105-99 loss to the Thunder. That meant the Magic were missing their top three scorers while Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner were recovering from oblique injuries.
The Heat will take on the Brooklyn Nets on Monday and play the Magic again next Thursday. Orlando follows up its big comeback win on Monday with a game against the Boston Celtics.
