NBA Game Summary - Orlando at Miami

04.9.2006

Miami, FL (Basketball News) - Jameer Nelson scored 26 points to lead the Orlando Magic to a 93-84 victory over the Miami Heat.

Dwight Howard pitched in 16 points and eight rebounds for Orlando, which has won eight of its last nine games. Hedo Turkoglu netted 14 points and DeShawn Stevenson added 11 points.

Dwyane Wade posted 27 points and seven assists for Miami, which has lost four of six games this month. Shaquille O’Neal added 16 points and nine boards for the Heat, which also got 10 points from Udonis Haslem.

Miami, which lost its second straight home game for the first time since February of 2004, remains 2 1/2 games ahead of New Jersey for the second spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Orlando captured just its ninth road win of the season (9-30), but the team still has slim playoff hopes. The Magic are three games behind Chicago and Philadelphia for the final playoff spot in the conference.

"We haven’t stopped talking about it and that’s where we are," Magic head coach Brian Hill said of possibly making the postseason. "We have games coming up with people ahead of us, Chicago, Philadelphia, Indiana, and that’s certainly not overlooking tomorrow’s game against Atlanta."

After Monday’s home game against the Hawks, the Magic have five more, home contests against Toronto, the Sixers and Bulls, and road games versus San Antonio and the Pacers.

Orlando scored eight unanswered points during a stretch of 1:30 midway through the first quarter to take 16-6 lead, and Howard scored six of the eight points. The Magic led 27-18 after one quarter and 56-43 at intermission.

Orlando dominated play early in the third quarter and led by 20 points with 7:11 remaining in the period, but the Heat did manage to cut its deficit to 75-66 heading into the final stanza.

Wade hit two early shots in the fourth quarter to make the score 75-70, but Miami was unable to get any closer. Orlando responded with a 12-3 run, finished by a Howard jam, to seal the victory.

"When it comes right down to it I coached a horrible game," said Heat coach Pat Riley. "I started the wrong lineup, I made the wrong substitutions and I called the wrong plays."

Miami never led in the contest turned the ball over 20 times.

The Heat lost for only the third time in the 30 games that it has shot at least 50 percent from the floor...Miami suffered its first loss in a Southeast Division home game (15-1)...Wade became the first Heat player to score 2,000 points in a season...Orlando’s Carlos Arroyo left the game with a sprained left hamstring and did not return.

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