MIAMI — It took a record-setting night from 3-point range for the Miami Heat to beat the Orlando Magic.
- The Miami Heat made a franchise-record 22 3-pointers to defeat the Orlando Magic 116-113
- Duncan Robinson scored 27 points on 9 3-pointers and Terrence Ross scored 31 for the Magic
- Orlando is back in action Friday at Minnesota
Duncan Robinson scored 27 points, all of them coming from beyond the arc, and the Heat hit a franchise-record 22 3-pointers in their 116-113 win over the Magic on Wednesday night.
Goran Dragic scored 25 points and added nine assists, Kelly Olynyk scored 16 on a perfect shooting night and Jimmy Butler finished with 12 points, eight assists and seven rebounds as Miami won its fourth straight.
The previous record for Heat 3-pointers was 21, set April 5, 2017, at Charlotte. The 22 3-pointers made also tied the most allowed in a game by Orlando.
“My teammates encouraged me to shoot. The coaching staff encourages me to shoot,” Robinson said. “So I just went out and tried to be aggressive.”
Terrence Ross scored 35 and hit a season-high eight 3-pointers for the Magic, who have dropped three straight yet remain in the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Nikola Vucevic scored 22 points and grabbed 16 rebounds for the Magic, while Evan Fournier finished with 17.
“The biggest factor in that game was totally on me,” Magic coach Steve Clifford said. “We just didn’t have a good Option B for Duncan Robinson until halftime. We made adjustments at halftime. Our guys did a good job, but that was the difference in the game.”
Even after the 3-point barrage by Miami, Orlando still had a chance at the end.
Down three with 6.2 seconds left after the Heat took the last foul they had left to give, the Magic went to Aaron Gordon — who got a good look at a 3-pointer from the right corner. It hit the rim, the Heat controlled the rebound and time expired.
Robinson missed his first shot, a 3-pointer from the left corner. His next seven were all 3s, and all connected. He was 7 for 8 from distance in the opening 24 minutes, becoming the first player in the NBA to have two first halves with at least seven 3s this season — he had eight in the first half against Cleveland on Nov. 20.
“Some of those 3s they made were hard shots and sometimes that happens,” Vucevic said. “I thought defensively we were better. There are some mistakes that we didn’t take care of.”
The Heat needed all Robinson had, because the Magic weren’t going away.
Orlando was down by as many as 15 midway through the second quarter, then used a 13-2 run over a stretch of 2:55 late in the half to get right back into things. Miami’s lead was down to 60-55 at the break and the Heat led 88-84 after a back-and-forth third quarter that featured 10 lead changes.
“This is the league,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “This is what you have to manage over 48 minutes. You have to continue to grind and work the game and work on all the necessary things that put you in the best position to win.”