Miami feel the heat against magic Orlando in the NBA Cup quarter-finals.
Miami Heat watch NBA Cup hopes burn as they lose 108-117 to Orlando, thanks to some Desmond Bane Magic.
Heat were on fire in the first quarter, posting 15 unanswered points, enjoying a 30-17 lead at the first break.
Magic outscored their opponents in the three remaining quarters, 39-27, 33-26 & 28-25, with Bane scoring 37 points for the victors.
Jamahl Mosley’s team travel to Las Vegas to face The New York Knicks on Saturday, December 13.
The Game
OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER BEAT PHOENIX SUNS
The opening minutes were disastrous for Orlando, as Miami ran riot, with buckets from Andrew Wiggins (5pts), Norman Powell (3pts) Tyler Herro (7pts) before their opponents managed a single score.
With a further 15 points for the visitors, and just 17 points for the hosts, who could blame Erik Spoelstra for feeling optimistic at the end of the first quarter.
However, a spirited second quarter saw the home team lead by a single point, 57-56, at the end of an intriguing half.
Orlando quickly extinguished the Miami fire in the second half with a dominant performance completing a magical comeback.
Heat went just 8/33 (24.2%) from deep, with Magic’s three-point accuracy proving the difference, as they hit 15/32 (46.9%).
star player: desmond bane
Dazzling Desmond Bane, who came in for Magic’s injured Franz Wagner, scored a career high 37 points – including six three-pointers – with Jalen Suggs scoring 20 and Paolo Banchero 18.
Norman Powell (21), Tyler Herro (20) and Andrew Wiggins (19) were the biggest contributors for the visitors.
However, Heat scoring machine Herro struggled with the late pace on his return from injury, missing a crucial three-pointer to end any chance of a late comeback.
Knicks will be of particular interest for Bane, who was recently fined $35,000 for throwing the ball at one of his semi-final opponents, OG Anunoby.
Although he won’t mind too much now, with the winning team receiving around $100,000 each for winning last night.
watch nba live on amazon prime video
The Emirates NBA Cup semi-finals will be aired exclusively on Amazon Prime Video, on December 13.
Leave a Reply