Miami Heat set record from deep, topping Orlando Magic
Led by Duncan Robinson, the Heat set a franchise-record 22 three-pointers against the Magic on Wednesday night
Thursday 5 March 2020 09:57, UK
It took a record-setting night from three-point range for the Miami Heat to beat the Orlando Magic.
Duncan Robinson scored 27 points, all of them coming from beyond the arc, and the Heat hit a franchise-record 22 three-pointers in their 116-113 win over the Magic on Wednesday night.
Goran Dragic scored 25 points and added nine assists, Kelly Olynyk scored 16 on a perfect shooting night and Jimmy Butler finished with 12 points, eight assists and seven rebounds as Miami won their fourth straight game.
The previous record for Heat three-pointers was 21, set on April 5, 2017, at Charlotte. The 22 three-pointers made also tied the most allowed in a game by Orlando. "My team-mates encouraged me to shoot. The coaching staff encourages me to shoot," Robinson said. "So I just went out and tried to be aggressive."
Terrence Ross had season-highs of 35 points and eight three-pointers for the Magic, who have dropped three straight games yet remain in the No 8 spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
The game became just the second in NBA regular-season history where two players made at least eight three-pointers. The other: January 5 2019, when Stephen Curry made 10 for Golden State and Buddy Hield made eight for Sacramento.
It has also happened once in a playoff game, when Draymond Green and Damian Lillard both made eight in a Golden State-Portland match-up on May 7 2016.
Nikola Vucevic scored 22 points and grabbed 16 rebounds for the Magic, while Evan Fournier finished with 17.
"The biggest factor in that game was totally on me," Magic coach Steve Clifford said. "We just didn't have a good Option B for Duncan Robinson until half-time. We made adjustments at half-time. Our guys did a good job, but that was the difference in the game."
Even after the three-point barrage by Miami, Orlando still had a chance at the end. Down three with 6.2 seconds left after the Heat took the last foul they had left to give, the Magic went to Aaron Gordon - who got a good look at a three-pointer from the right corner. It hit the rim, the Heat controlled the rebound and time expired.
Robinson missed his first shot, a three-pointer from the left corner. His next seven were all threes, and all connected. He was seven for eight from distance in the opening 24 minutes, becoming the first player in the NBA to have two first halves with at least seven threes this season - he had eight in the first half against Cleveland on November 20.
"Some of those threes they made were hard shots and sometimes that happens," Vucevic said. "I thought defensively we were better. There are some mistakes that we didn't take care of."
The Heat needed all Robinson had, because the Magic weren't going away.
Orlando were down by as many as 15 midway through the second quarter, then used a 13-2 run over a stretch of 2:55 late in the half to get right back into things. Miami's lead was down to 60-55 at the break and the Heat led 88-84 after a back-and-forth third quarter that featured 10 lead changes.
Sad memory
Wednesday marked exactly 30 years since Loyola Marymount's Hank Gathers collapsed and died on the court in a game against Portland - a moment where Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, then a guard for Portland, was on the court and just a few feet away from the high-scoring star.
Spoelstra has spoken of that day, that moment, many times. "That's going to be etched in my memory until the end," Spoelstra said.
Florida state title
Miami won the inter-state season series against Orlando 3-1, the first time in the last four years and the 15th time in 31 years overall that the Heat could claim Florida bragging rights.
Orlando have won the season series nine times, and the clubs have split the other seven. "This is our state," Heat center Meyers Leonard tweeted post-game.
