The Miami Heat traveled three hours north to Central Florida to take on the Magic at the world famous Amway Center. The Magic tried their best to make history Monday night in Orlando by ending the Heat’s 26-game winning streak, but LeBron James and his crew wanted no part of it.
They beat up on the Magic 108-94 to extend their win streak to an impressive 27 games.
Heat forward and everything man LeBron James finished the night one rebound short of a triple-double. He logged 24 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds all without the help of an injured Dwayne Wade.
“I continue to always say that in professional sports, wins are hard to come by and teams like this are really rare. To be part of a team like this, we do not take it for granted,” said James.
Early in the first half, the Magic kept pace with the Heat, matching Miami’s 28 first quarter points to make the second quarter seem a little interesting.
Then the second quarter actually started and the Heat’s athleticism, experience and aggressive nature took over. They outscored Orlando by nine points and continued their dominance of the lowly Magic for the remainder of the game.
In addition to James’ 24 points, point guard Mario Chalmers chipped in 17, three point specialist Ray Allen scored 12 points on four three pointers and center Chris Bosh added 17.
For the Magic, the loss to the Heat dropped them to 18-53 on the season. They lost their 27th home game and are in the midst of another nasty losing streak. The Magic have not won since March 10th when they beat the Philadelphia 76ers by eight points in Orlando.
Still, the Magic played hard and really did attempt to end the Heat’s streak. Team leader Jameer Nelson poured in 27 points and earned his 3,000th career assist. The Magic received another strong performance from forward Tobias Harris, he scored 20 points, and guard E’Twuan Moore chipped in 13.
Before the final scored was recorded, the Magic received a little assistance from the crowd in the second quarter when a young woman ventured out onto the court during a timeout to try a shot from half-court for a chance at winning $1,000.
After she threw the ball low and to the left, missing the basket by 15 or so feet, she was urged to turnaround by Magic DJ Scotty B. As she fixed her eyes toward the other basket, her boyfriend was on bended knee with a sparkly diamond ring asking her to marry him.
Slowly walking toward him, she spoke through her tears and blurted out a quivering “Yes!” to her boyfriend’s question.
It was a nice moment for a crowd that’s been condition to be pleased by halftime performances and timeout routines due to the Magic’s disappointing season.
Orlando has a chance to end their current losing streak of seven games on Wednesday as they travel to Charlotte to take on the Bobcats.
After that, there are only 10 games left in the season, and ironically, the Magic and Heat will tangle in the season’s last game in Miami on April 17th.
In regards to the Heat and their run of winning games, the next team with the chance to strike out against Miami will be the Chicago Bulls. They host the Heat on Wednesday and will look to take out the Heat’s winning streak and improve their playoff position in the East.
-JH
