Heat and Magic Pull off Wins As They Battle For A Playoff Spot

The Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic kept the momentum for the playoff pursuit as the Heat defeated the Charlotte Hornets, 93-75 and the Orlando Magic defeated the Atlanta Hawks, 101-91.

The Miami Heat

For instance, with the victory over the Hornets, the No.8 Heat are one game ahead of the No. 9 Magic and pushed it’s lead over the No.10 Hornets to two games in the Eastern Conference playoff push.

After shooting 32.6 percent from the field, the Heat (33-36) came alive in the fourth quarter.

However, the Heat played without Justice Winslow who missed the game due to a right thigh bruise as Miami entered the fourth quarter with just a one-point lead but outscored Charlotte 32-15 in the final period.

https://twitter.com/MiamiHEAT/status/1107412426700537856

After that, Goran Dragic delivered 10 points and Dwayne Wade had 12 points in the quarter.

https://twitter.com/MiamiHEAT/status/1107410363811803138

Lastly, Dragic finished off the night with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting and four assists as Wade had 17 points on 6-of-14 shooting and eight rebounds as he played the match with a right hip bruise that put his status for the game up in the air before tip-off.

https://twitter.com/MiamiHEAT/status/1107362553183772673

Next, the Heat hit the road as they now begin a four-game trip with a Monday matchup against the Thunder in Oklahoma City.

The Orlando Magic

Nikola Vucevic recorded a game-high 27 points along with 20 rebounds as the Magic delivered a 101-91 win over the Hawks.

M A G I C 🎉 W I N pic.twitter.com/ypDmAVkbxa

— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) March 18, 2019

The Magic (33-38) shot just 38.8 percent from the field and outscored the Hawks 26-7 from the free-throw line.

First, the win extends the Magic’s home win streak to four and has kept them in pace with the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Secondly, Vucevic scored 17 of his 27 points in the first eight minutes of the game as Aaron Gordon had 22 points and eight rebounds as well.

https://twitter.com/OrlandoMagic/status/1107470173865426944

Further, Michael Carter-Williams who signed a 10-day contract with the Magic, played in the backup role as point guard and finished with five points and four rebounds.

Finally, the Magic play Wednesday against the New Orleans Pelicans as their home-stand continues.