The Orlando Magic showed all the grit fans have become accustomed to, but finally showed mental toughness those same fans have pined for to earn a 102-101 victory against the Miami Heat. In game where no team led by more than ten points, Jacque Vaughn’s squad needed all the resilience it could muster to eke out this road win.

From the Shaq-Wade era to the Big Three, Miami has been a thorn in Orlando’s side in recent memory. While LeBron, Dwight, and many other players have come and gone from these teams, but Dwyane Wade has remained a constant Magic Killer over the years. He took over the game late, scoring 15 of his 25 in the fourth, including 7 free throws. This barrage was done in classic Wade fashion, turning difficult mid range touches into trips to the line or shot windows through beautiful footwork and one of the most effective pump fakes in the league. On the final possession, Wade had a chance to win the game, but a heady double team from Elfrid Payton forced a very difficult look that hit back iron as the buzzer sounded. As you can see below, Payton cheats far off the slumping Norris Cole knowing Wade a) doesn’t have time to pass and b) wouldn’t have passed to anyone but Bosh in a clutch situation like that. Plays like this make you forget that the man with our favorite hair-do is just a rookie. Elfrid is proving he belongs in this league and is deserving of ROY consideration.

Wade now has a protégé following in his footsteps with Victor Oladipo in the NBA. It’s no secret that the two are friends; they had the same college coach and have been working out in the offseason together. It’s evident that Victor is learning during these meetings. He shot the ball very efficiently, putting up 22 points on 7/12 FG (3/4 from 3) and generally looked comfortable on offense when he was playing off the ball. Despite this, the PG experiment needs to end.

Just look above. Three Heat players converge on Oladipo, an obvious clue that someone is open. O’Quinn is ready for a dropoff pass, a red-hot Nik Vucevic is calling for the ball, and Fournier is in the corner locked and loaded to shoot as always. Unfortunately, this play led to a charge call and a turnover, prompting Twitter to call for his head. His struggles aren’t unprecedented, and this experiment with a true SG as a primary ball handler has roots closer to Oladipo than you may think. Per Basketball Reference, the aforementioned Dwyane Wade played 64% of his minutes at point during his rookie season (a year in which he had just 1.4 assists for every turnover), and he has not played there more than 15% of the time since 2009. No one seems to talk about that season for Wade, but those minutes running the offense undoubtedly helped. He knows how to create his own shot, use screens, and maneuver in the paint at an all-NBA level because of that experience. And the Heat have only had two ball handlers since Wade’s rookie year that are even as good as Elfrid Payton is right now. There is hope for Oladipo and the minutes at PG will dwindle. For now, it will be frustrating, but the long-term gain may be evident in what you see wearing a number 3 jersey in Miami. He receives the game ball tonight for his clutch play down the stretch.

The 4s and 5s for Orlando also had a mostly solid night. Nikola Vucevic should find a way to trick opposing teams into always wearing Heat jerseys, because he decimates this team and continued doing so tonight with 26 points (12/17 FG) and 9 rebounds. Miami simply doesn’t have an answer for someone his size that can both stretch the floor and beat defenders with finesse moves in the post. His All-Star resume continues to build, but we can only hope other fan bases realize what a productive player he is. As mentioned on our Magic on the Mic podcast, Dewayne Dedmon continues to earn his playing time with rim protection, offensive rebounding, and generally being a human ball of energy. He has ways of slithering in for tips and using his athleticism to beat defenders that other big men on this roster don’t seem to have. Channing Frye had another performance perfectly suitable for his role on the team. Frye is not someone that will stuff the stat sheet, but his game goes far beyond the 13 points on 5/11 shooting you see on the stat sheet. Look at the spacing he gives the Magic on this set to end a third quarter run to tie the game.

Frye’s defender, here no. 22 Danny Granger, can’t lean too far inside to cut off the passing lane Elfrid Payton uses to find an open Tobias Harris in the corner. It’s maybe a step or two father away from the basket than he would normally be, but it’s just enough for a great passer like Payton. Plays like this don’t count for anything on a stat sheet, but good coaches know how much it can mean for a team.

All in all, this was a very solid road win against a rival team. Despite the Heat attempting 40 (!!) free throws compared to Orlando’s 13, the Magic countered with a fast pace and making it rain three pointers in American Airlines Arena. The kind of versatility Orlando has with it’s roster allows for such style changes and makes matching up easier on a game to game basis. There is always room for improvement and Miami is certainly not elite NBA competition, but getting a true win streak heading in to three winnable home games has to make this team hungrier for more.

By Jake Borton

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