Heat Avoid Letdown, Extend Winning Streak to 16
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Chris Trotman/Getty Images(MIAMI) — The Miami Heat blew a 20-point lead, but LeBron James came through when it counted as the Heat topped the Orlando Magic 97-96 Wednesday, extending Miami’s win streak to 16 games.
The Heat led by 20 early in the third quarter, but the Magic erased and took the lead with 9:22 in the fourth quarter. From that moment on LeBron James scored nine of his game-high 26 points, including hitting the game winning lay-up with 3.2 seconds left in the game.
“We didn’t get stops in the third quarter,” James said when talking about blowing the big lead. “We allowed them to gain confidence and they started making shots. We didn’t make stops and it allowed them to get back in the game.”
Dwyane Wade scored 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting for the Heat.
The Magic’s Nikola Vucevic had 25 points and 21 rebounds in the loss. It was Vucevic’s second 20 rebound game versus the Heat this season.
Orlando (17-45) has now lost 21 of its last 24 games.
The Heat (45-14) will look to make it 17 straight wins on Friday, when it hosts the Philadelphia 76ers.
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