Miami rout Orlando in home opener
Miami Heat halted a three-match losing streak against the Orlando Magic in style, as they turned a much anticipated battle into a lopsided contest. Prior to the match, all the doubts on the effectiveness of the ‘Big Three’ and the impact they will make on
the championship credentials of the Heat this season were laid to rest after a brilliant show from the trio, who combined for a total of 42 points as Miami turned the heat on. The much touted deep defence of the Magic could not come to terms with the offensive
prowess of Miami and the Heat rolled past a rather subdued Magic outfit in front of a 19,600 strong home crowd.
The match started on a comparatively even note with both teams clawing back at each other right throughout the first quarter which ended on 24 points each. The pattern continued in much of the second period but Miami upped their momentum right at the end
of the quarter to edge past the Magic with a 6-point lead at 51-45.
The Magic team would have been contemplating a comeback but the Heat had other ideas on their mind, as they hit the ground running in the third quarter. LeBron James opened the half with a 3-pointer followed a brace from Dwyane Wade within 51 seconds and
all of a sudden the Magic were in a deep hole trailing the Heat by 15 points. This forced a visibly worried Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy to call a timeout. The situation though, did not change for the Magic as the Heat continued from where they left and simply
outclassed their opponents in every aspect of the game and sprinted to a 24-point lead by the end of the third quarter. Things did not change much in the fourth period as the Orlando Magic succumbed to a 29 points defeat.
Dwyane Wade led the Heats with 26 points; James had 15 points with seven assists while Chris Bosh and Udonis Haslem chipped in with 11 points each to prevail in the home opener. Dwight Howard scored 19 points for his team, all of them in the first half as
Miami called the shots in the second. Ryan Anderson scored 12 points off the bench with Jameer Nelson netting 10.
LeBron James did not retaliate much when Otis Smith, president of basket operations in Orlando, taunted him upon his arrival at Miami "I was surprised that he went. I thought he was, I guess, more of a competitor.” He and his new team combined forces to
give a resounding response where it actually mattered and sent the Magic to their most humiliating defeat in recent times, with Orlando managing their lowest point total since Dec 2, 2005.
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