Magic Make Van Gundy A Winner In Return

Orlando 121, Miami 114

MIAMI, Dec. 28 (AP) -- Stan Van Gundy had seen this all before from Dwyane Wade.

Jumpers that swish with the game on the line. Forcing turnovers. Setting up teammates for big shots.

Van Gundy enjoyed it when he coached Wade and the Miami Heat. He even enjoyed it again Friday night, albeit from the Orlando Magic's end of the court.

Dwight Howard had 29 points and 21 rebounds, Hedo Turkoglu capped his 22-point night by hitting a huge 3-pointer with 11 seconds left and the Magic survived some late-game Miami heroics to beat the Heat 121-114 on Friday night -- giving Van Gundy a victory in his return to South Florida.

"I am just happy to walk out of here with a win,'' said Van Gundy, Pat Riley's former protege who resigned as Heat coach in December 2005 and hadn't been back for a game before Friday night.

Wade matched a career high with 48 points, 20 of them coming in the fourth quarter and all of them in regulation for Miami, which fell to 8-22. He was 16-for-21 from the floor, plus added 11 assists and seven rebounds.

Somehow, it wasn't enough.

"It's a little demoralizing to play my most complete game yet and to really have a feeling that we were going to win this ballgame,'' Wade said. "To lose it in overtime, it hurts.''

Van Gundy ordered the Magic to trap Wade constantly in overtime, and it worked. Wade didn't get a shot off in the extra 5 minutes.

"You can tell Pat and Dwyane, right off the bat next game, we're trapping him the minute he walks out of the locker room,'' Van Gundy said.

He was laughing when he said that.

The Heat found nothing worth laughing about.

Daequan Cook sent the game to overtime with a long 3-pointer with 1.9 seconds left in regulation on an assist by Wade, then tied the game again on another 3 with 1:18 left for Miami. But Turkoglu scored the next five points, sealing Orlando's seventh straight win in the series between the Sunshine State rivals.

Rashard Lewis scored 17 points, while Keith Bogans and Carlos Arroyo each had 13 for Orlando.

"It's the good thing about our team,'' Turkoglu said. "No matter what happens, we stick together until the end.''

Ricky Davis and Udonis Haslem each scored 17 for Miami, which played without center Shaquille O'Neal and point guard Jason Williams. Dorell Wright scored 14 points and Cook finished with 11 for the Heat.

Orlando led 84-79 after Evans' three-point play with 9:52 left in regulation, a score set up by a turnover by Wade. So he went to work, as if to make up for the mistake.

He scored eight straight points to stake Miami to an 87-84 lead and, after Lewis made a free throw following a technical against Haslem, Wade found Wright for a dunk that gave Miami a four-point lead. Cook then added a 3-pointer, putting Miami ahead 92-85 and capping a 13-1, 3 1/2-minute run.

Orlando wasn't fazed. Lewis made a 3-pointer, Howard added a three-point play 41 seconds later, and suddenly the Magic were within one. And when Wade stretched the margin back to 98-91, Orlando came back again -- with Lewis' 3-pointer after Orlando controlled a missed free throw by Howard playing a huge role.

"One rebound in regulation is probably what it comes down to,'' Riley said.

Miami had four players log at least 42 minutes, largely because the Heat are wracked by injuries.

O'Neal missed his first game of the season with left hip bursitis and Williams was sidelined by a sore left knee. Miami also played without backup point guard Chris Quinn (sprained ankle), and the Heat aren't sure if any of those three will be ready to play Saturday night in Washington.

That depleted roster didn't hurt Miami in the early going.

The Heat led by as many as nine in the first half, before taking a 54-50 lead into intermission.

Miami stretched the lead to 10 shortly after halftime, but Orlando used a 19-6 run late in the third quarter to erase the deficit and take a five-point lead.

And in the wild fourth quarter, Orlando simply had a little bit more.

"It was kind of fun,'' Arroyo said.

source : NBA.com