Dwayne Wade’s career high of 50 points wasn’t enough heat for Miami as Dwight Howard and the Magic scored a 122-99 victory Sunday night.
Howard had 32 points and 17 rebounds in last night’s game.
Hedo Turkoglu had 20 points and Rafer Alston added 12 points and nine assists for the Magic, who have won 12 of the past 15 games against their Sunshine State rival.
“It’s great to know you can score 50 points, but it would be better to walk away with a win,” said Wade, who was 17-for-30 shooting from the floor. “It’s bittersweet. No player alone can carry everything.”
Wade hit a pair of 3-pointers in an 11-4 Heat run to start the third quarter, closing the gap to 68-57. But the Magic would come back with a series of 3s to go ahead 91-72 at the end of the period to offset Wade’s performance.
The Heat never got close in the fourth, and Miami coach Erik Spoelstra cleared most of the bench midway through the period –except for Wade, who was left in until his shot over Courtney Lee gave him 50 points.
Despite Wade’s stellar game, it was the Magic’s newest player that made the biggest difference.
Alston, acquired from Houston last Friday, has taken the ballhandling responsibilities off Orlando’s free-shooting perimeter players.
Information from the Associated Press contributed to this report.