Heat at Magic
Goran Dragic recorded a double-double in the second game with his new team and looks to follow that up when his Miami Heat visit the rejuvenated Orlando Magic on Wednesday. Dragic scored 23 points and dished out 10 assists as the Heat turned back Philadelphia 119-108 on Monday for their third victory in eight games. Miami moved into seventh place in the East with the win and won’t have it easy against the Magic, who have won three straight games for the first time this season.
Dragic also had 12 points in his debut with the Heat on Friday after being acquired from Phoenix in a multi-player deal to give the team more scoring depth. “He’s picked up the offense fast and how to play with guys fast,” Miami guard Dwyane Wade told reporters of Dragic. “He’s only going to get better.” The Heat will have to contain 7-0 center Nikola Vucevic, who registered 31 points and 14 rebounds in the 103-98 win over Philadelphia on Friday.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Sun Sports (Miami), FSN Florida (Orlando)
ABOUT THE HEAT (24-31): Forward Luol Deng bounced back from a rough outing in the loss to New Orleans on Saturday to score 29 on 11-of-14 shooting against Philadelphia and averages 14.4 per contest. Deng and Dragic join Wade (21 points per game) and Mario Chalmers (11 per game) to give the Heat a productive group on the perimeter. Miami will have to make up for the loss of All-Star forward Chris Bosh (blood clots) for the season, but center Hassan Whiteside has stepped up while averaging 13 points the last four games.
ABOUT THE MAGIC (19-39): Orlando has won four of six games since James Borrego replaced Jacque Vaughn as coach and allowed fewer than 100 points in each contest during that span. “That’s our standard,” Borrego told reporters. “When you’re on the floor, you defend every night. We’ll figure out the offense, but we’re going to be a defensive team every night.” The Magic have plenty of offensive options with Vucevic (19.8 points), Tobias Harris (17.1), Victor Oladipo (16.7) and Evan Fournier (12 per game).
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Miami is 28th in the league in scoring offense and fourth on defense, allowing 96.8 points per contest.
2. Orlando snapped a 10-game losing streak against Miami with a 102-101 victory on Dec. 29, getting 26 points from Vucevic.
3. The Heat are 8-0 when Deng has scored 20 points or more this season.