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Magic outscores Heat 37-8 in 4th quarter, overcomes 25-point deficit for 121-114 win (Video)

Magic outscores Heat 37-8 in 4th quarter, overcomes 25-point deficit for 121-114 win (Video)

The story of Saturday’s match between Miami Heat And Magic of Orlando Did Jimmy Butler miss the game due to illness. Suffering from a stomach ache, Butler left Friday’s loss At Oklahoma City Thunder in the first quarter and did not travel with the Heat to Orlando.

Yet the big takeaway Miami loses 121-114 at the Magic was that the Heat blew a 25-point lead and were outscored 37-8 in the fourth quarter.

Cole Antoine scored 35 points off the bench, including 27 in the second half, to fuel Orlando’s 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 increased their lead over Miami in the Southeast Division to three games. Orlando also retained fourth place Eastern Conference standings.

The Heat took a 63-38 lead with 5:17 left in the fourth quarter on a Kel’el Ware soak. They led 76-56 at halftime and increased the margin to 106-84 after three quarters. But Miami fell apart in 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 left in regulation. Miami shot 2 of 18 from the floor in the quarter, including 0 of 8 on 3-pointers.

Teams with a 22-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter do not lose, because Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press pointed out. Five years ago, these teams went 796-0 by such a margin.

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. Replacing Butler, Dru Smith scored 14 and Nikola Jovic only contributed four after joining the starting lineup.

Orlando was without Jalen Suggswho suffered a sprained ankle Thursday’s 105-99 loss at Thunder. This meant the Magic were missing their top three scorers with Paolo Banchero And Franz Wagner recovering from oblique injuries.

The Heat faces the Brooklyn fillets Monday before playing the Magic again on Thursday. Orlando continues its big comeback victory with a match against the Boston Celtics Monday.