Orlando's defense comes up big in a victory of the Heat 113-107

Orlando- In the second half, the Magic's defense stopped the heat from scoring buckets late in the game to pull out the victory in home opener.

In the first half, the Orlando Magic was shooting the ball pretty well against the Miami Heat. Orlando was shooting around 57% from the field. Terrence Ross was starting to heat up in the second quarter. Ross hit a couple of jumpers and was a key factor with keeping Orlando in the game. He finished the half with 12 points in 12 minutes.

Orlando was very active on the glass, as they had 19 total rebounds in two quarters. With under five minutes left in the half, Orlando went on a 12-4 run to go into the half with a 57-53 lead.

At the start of the third quarter, Aaron Gordon found himself on the bench early, after getting his fourth foul in the game. That was a huge loss for the Magic, because Gordon was doing a good job with protecting the paint.

Midway in the quarter, the Magic had trouble stopping Jimmy "Get Buckets" Butler. Butler was heating up the Magic, as he scored nine points in three minutes and started a 18-8 run for his team.

Despite the Heat catching fire in the third, the young Orlando team did a better job in the fourth with closing out the air space on jump shooters and made them shoot difficult shots. T-Ross, Gordon, and Evan Fournier hit big shots early in the fourth in a very tight game. Six Missed free throws by Orlando, put them in bind with under four minutes left in regulation.

With the game on the line, Orlando's defense stiffened with a minute left in the game and forced Miami to take tough shots that did not go in. Orlando went on to win 113-107.

Key Players

T. Ross finished with 19 points, 1 assists, and 3 rebounds

A. Gordon had 20 points and 7 rebounds