Desmond Bane made six 3-pointers and matched his season high with 37 points as the Orlando Magic beat the visiting Miami Heat 117-108 on Tuesday to advance to the NBA Cup semifinals in Las Vegas.
Jalen Suggs had 20 points and Paolo Banchero added 18 for No. 1 seed Orlando, which will face either the New York Knicks or the Toronto Raptors in an East semifinal matchup on Saturday.
Bane scored 15 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Magic, who recovered from a 16-point first-quarter deficit to improve to 11-3 all-time in NBA Cup games. Wendell Carter Jr. finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds, Tristan da Silva scored 11 points and Anthony Black added 10.
Norman Powell had 21 points and Tyler Herro scored 20 in his return from a two-game absence for Miami, which has lost four straight and five of its last six. Bam Adebayo and Andrew Wiggins added 19 points apiece, Davion Mitchell had 11 and Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 10.
Orlando led by six at the start of the fourth quarter and extended its lead to 101-87 on da Silva’s 3-pointer with 8:55 to play. Miami pulled within 115-108 with 54 seconds left before Orlando held on for its third win over the Heat this season.
The Magic shot 50.6% percent from the field and 46.9% (15 of 32) from 3-point range. Orlando played without leading scorer Franz Wagner, who is expected to miss two to four weeks after suffering a left high ankle sprain in Sunday’s loss to the New York Knicks.
Miami scored the first 15 points of the game and moved ahead 20-4 before leading 30-17 at the end of the first quarter.
Orlando settled in and began the second quarter on a 20-9 run to pull within 39-37 with 7:03 left in the period.
The Magic took their first lead at 47-46 on Carter’s jumper with 3:55 remaining and outscored the Heat 39-27 in the second quarter.
Powell and Herro scored 12 points apiece in the first half for Miami, which held a 57-56 advantage at intermission.
Bane, who scored 12 points in the first half, scored 10 in the third quarter to help give the Magic an 89-83 lead at the end of the period.
–Field Level Media
