The Orlando Magic just will not quit. They entered Saturday's matchup without Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs, lost Moe Wagner to an knee injury in the first quarter, saw Wendell Carter Jr. get ejected in the second and trailed by 22 entering the fourth. Despite it all, they came away with a 121-114 win over their in-state rivals, the Miami Heat.
All told it was a 25-point comeback for the Magic, which set a new franchise record. Furthermore, they became the first team to overcome a 22-point deficit entering the fourth quarter since Dec. 22, 2019. Teams facing the same circumstances over the last five years were 0-796, per Tim Reynolds.
"Just the celebration of the fight that we all put forth," Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said of the locker room scenes following the stunning win. "There was a little bit of shock because of all of the things that we had to overcome within this game. But then there was the relief of this what we're capable of doing."
The Magic are known for their defense, and they put on a masterclass in the fourth quarter even without some of their best players on that side of the ball. They held the Heat to just eight points on 2 of 18 from the field in the final frame and forced five turnovers. Trevelin Queen's emphatic block on Tyler Herro to seal the win was a fitting exclamation point.
The Magic have completed the franchise's largest comeback in the play-by-play era (since 1997-98) 🪄
— NBA (@NBA) December 22, 2024
They storm back from down 25 to steal the win at home! pic.twitter.com/caK94KaXXz
The Heat are the first team held under double digits in a quarter since the Milwaukee Bucks did so in a March 6 loss to the Golden State Warriors last season. The last time the Heat failed to reach double digits in a frame was back in 2021 in a loss to the Boston Celtics.
Cole Anthony led the comeback for the Magic and finished with 35 points, nine assists and eight rebounds in by far his best performance of the season. He's struggled to find the form he's shown as a bench scorer in the last few years, and if this is the game that gets him back on track that would be a big boost to the Magic's sometimes anemic offense.
With the win, Orlando improved to 18-12 and maintained its 1.5-game advantage on Milwaukee in the race for the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference.
The Heat, meanwhile, sunk to 13-13 and are clinging to the sixth and final automatic playoff spot.
"These are tough ass lessons," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of the collapse, which extended his team's losing streak to three games and continued a frustrating season.
