Heat stun Magic in OT, 93-90

There are times when you have to be there and see it to believe it.....well maybe see 4/5's of it.  On a night that saw the Miami Heat play what was essentially a home game in the city of Orlando, a small group of fans grew from elation to disappointment as the young Magic blew a late 6 point lead to fall to the Heat 93-90.  The Heat, showing a fire rarely seen, surged to a 10-2 run in the final  42 seconds.  Despite the Magic being represented by blues and blacks, the Amway Center was cloaked in red, Heat Nation was alive and everywhere and multiple times throughout the game Heat Nation made themselves known by chanting loudly LETS GO HEAT all the while drowning out the few true fans of the Magic.  It was truly a home game for the Heat but that didn't stop the Magic from leading the majority of the game.

There's many stories to be told on this night but the most chilling for the Magic would be their performance from the charity stripe.  The team shot 18-31 and in a close game as this was, free throws missed will always come back to haunt you.  Magic C Nikola Vucevic had another strong effort against the Heat dropping 26 points and hauling in 8 rebounds.  Victor Oladipo had a very ordinary night, scoring only 13 points, but he did manage to haul in a career high 13 rebounds.  

Luol Deng paced the Heat with another steady performance due to contributing 21 points in the winning effort.  Consider Deng a bit of a good luck charm due to Miami being undefeated (9-0) when Deng scores over 20 points.  

After having a slow start, Heat G Dwyane Wade came alive in the 4th quarter and overtime scoring 12 points after only having 6 up until that point.  When it's money time, one can count on Wade to show up as he has time after time.  

The heroics of Henry Walker can't be missed.  After missing great looks throughout the game Walker (3-13) converted 2 huge treys late in the 4th to help send the Heat to overtime.  As any great shooter knows, if the shots aren't falling just keep shooting, the law of averages will always win.  

It was a terrible loss for the young Magic who are still going through growing pains, as for the Heat it was a win that could further propel the franchise higher in the standings.  They've quietly won the last 4 of 6 games.  

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra summed up the Heat's victory with one glaring statement:

"We made winning plays," Spoelstra said.