Depleted Magic storm back, hold Heat to 8 in 4th

A lead of astatine slightest 22 points pinch 12 minutes near intends triumph successful the NBA. Over the past 5 years, including playoffs, location had been 796 instances of a squad having specified a lead entering the 4th quarter.

Their record: 796-0.

Their grounds now: 796-1.

The Orlando Magic pulled disconnected a rally they'll surely remember, and the Miami Heat had a illness they surely won't soon forget. The Magic outscored the Heat 37-8 successful the 4th fourth to propulsion disconnected an improbable 121-114 triumph connected Saturday night, winning a crippled successful which they trailed by 25 successful the first half and were down 22 pinch 1 4th remaining.

"You can't really explicate that," Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. "That's thing I haven't seen. I person not seen that ever successful my years successful the league, the expertise to enactment pinch it contempt each of the circumstances that started successful the opening of the game."

Heat skipper Bam Adebayo was much succinct.

"We relaxed because we were up," Adebayo said. "I consciousness for illustration that's the karma of the game."

The Magic were playing without Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Jalen Suggs and Gary Harris -- and mislaid Moritz Wagner to what whitethorn beryllium a superior knee wounded successful the first quarter.

Depleted, they someway still tied the biggest comeback successful franchise history.

"This is the modern NBA correct now, right? The 20-point lead is not what it was a decade agone and you person to decorativeness each the measurement through," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

Some of the numbers were conscionable baffling:

- Orlando's 29-point separator successful the 4th fourth was the biggest successful immoderate crippled since Phoenix outscored New Orleans by 29 connected Feb. 19, 2021.

- Miami's 8 points successful the 4th fourth were the fewest by immoderate squad successful immoderate 4th this season.

- The past clip Orlando trailed by 25 successful a crippled and won was 1989.

"It's a group that conscionable continues to fight," Mosley said.

The past clip a squad trailed by 22 aliases much entering the 4th fourth and won was Dec. 22, 2019, erstwhile the Toronto Raptors -- down by 30 astatine 1 point, down by 23 pinch 12 minutes near -- hit the Dallas Mavericks 110-107.

It was statistically bizarre. The Heat had their best-scoring 4th of the play (40 successful the first), best-scoring half of the play (76 successful the first), worst-scoring 4th of the play (8 successful the fourth) and worst-scoring half of the play (38 successful the second) -- each successful the aforesaid night.

The 4th fourth saw Orlando sprout 14 for 23 -- and Miami sprout 2 for 18. Cole Anthony had 13 points successful the last 4th for the Magic, finishing pinch 35 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists disconnected the bench.

And that was different statistical oddity: Such a stat statement for personification disconnected the chair had happened only erstwhile since 1982 -- Stephen Curry had 40 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists for Golden State successful a playoff crippled successful 2016, not starting that crippled because he had been sidelined by a sprained knee.

"I'm truthful happy for this team, man," Anthony said.