Orlando Magic (38-28) beat Miami Heat (38-30) 121-117 on the road on Saturday, March 14 in a game that stayed within 16 points at every quarter break.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Magic struck first, taking the opening quarter 41-27 and a 14-point lead after one. The Magic kept the pressure on with a 30-28 second quarter, carrying a 16-point lead into halftime.
The Heat won the third 28-27 to stay in front, taking a 15-point lead into the fourth. The Heat took the fourth 34-23; the Magic held on for a 121-117 regulation win.
The edge that mattered
The Magic grabbed 30.6% of their own misses, while the Heat recovered 15.6%. The Magic got more from their shots, finishing at 55.1% effective field-goal shooting compared with 53.4% for the Heat. In a 4-point game, the second chances kept adding up.
The Heat did win one battle, ball security: TOV% of 9.7 against 17.6. The Magic made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 106 possessions per team, the Magic produced 114.5 points per 100 possessions to 110.7 for the Heat.
Who made the difference
Paolo Banchero was the game's biggest individual force for ORL: 27 pts, 8 reb, 7 ast on 8-14 shooting. His Game Score of 23.3 led everyone. His team was -2 with him on the floor.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. led the Heat with 22 pts, 2 reb, 7 ast, 3 stl on 9-16 shooting, good for a 19.3 Game Score.
Kel'el Ware (13 pts, 10 reb, 1 ast) recorded a double-double.
What it means
By our Win Meter this was an upset: The Magic entered with about a 33% chance.
Across the last 8 meetings in our records, Orlando Magic lead 6-2.
The Magic are now 38-28, and the Heat are 38-30. The Magic last five before this game: W-W-W-W-W.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.