ESPN 98.1 FM – 850 AM WRUF ESPN 98.1 FM – 850 AM WRUF
The Miami Heat and Orlando Magic both won Thursday night. The Heat beat the Warriors 116-109 and the Magic got a win over the Pelicans 115-110 in overtime.
Oladipo makes his Heat debut
Victor Oladipo made his first start with the Heat Thursday. He scored 6 points on 2/8 shooting, but one of his two field goals was a highlight-reel slam dunk.
🔥 @VicOladipo made winning plays in his HEAT debut pic.twitter.com/7lDo6thbSw
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) April 2, 2021
Forcing turnovers is what got the Heat the win. Miami turned Golden State over 20 times Thursday night compared to the Heat’s 12.
Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 22 points and eight assists. Also, Tyler Herro added 20 points off the bench.
Steph Curry led the Warriors in scoring with 36 and he led the team with 11 rebounds.
With the win, Miami has now won three straight games and is back up to fourth in the Eastern Conference standings.
Magic win on the road in overtime
The Magic played very well defensively in their win Thursday night. Orlando forced 24 New Orleans turnovers which helped them turn the game in their favor.
Needed another 5:00, but got the W #MagicTogether | @PapaJohns pic.twitter.com/1GSmI8K2ay
— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) April 2, 2021
The turnovers were huge for the Magic because Orlando shot 5/25 from 3 point range. The Magic shot 20 percent from three while the Pelicans shot 41 percent.
Wendell Carter Jr. led the team with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Terrance Ross also played well off the bench scoring 19 points.
For the Pelicans, Nickeil Alexander-Walker led the team with 31 points and 8 rebounds.
That was the Magic’s second win in a row after dropping the first two games after the trade deadline. The new-look Magic are trying to learn how to win without their two main stars that were traded away.
Orlando beat the Clippers on the road Wednesday night and will look to continue the win streak when they go on the road again against the NBA’s best team Utah Jazz on Saturday.
