Magic end Heat's home win streak
MIAMI -- Evan Fournier scored nine of his game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter as the Orlando Magic cooled off the Miami Heat 116-107 on Monday night at AmericanAirlines Arena.
The Heat (24-32) had won eight straight home games before the loss to Orlando (21-36).
In addition, the Heat had won 13 straight games overall -- the longest in the NBA this season and the longest in league history for a sub-.500 team -- before losing at the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night.
Now the Heat are on the wrong end of a two-game streak, and both losses came against teams with losing records.
Besides Fournier, Orlando got 20 points off the bench from Elfrid Payton and a double-double by Nikola Vucevic (13 points, 17 rebounds).
As a team, Orlando outrebounded Miami 52-37.
Miami was led by Dion Waiters' 23 points. Goran Dragic added 22 points and Hassan Whiteside produced a double-double (12 points, 19 rebounds).
Orlando dominated the first quarter, taking a 36-28 lead while holding a 17-5 rebounding advantage. The Magic also shot 54.2 percent from the floor and 9 of 9 from the free throw line.
The Magic led by as many as 14 points in the second quarter but had its advantage cut to 60-57 at halftime. The Heat closed the half on a 14-3 run that included a buzzer-beating layup by Dragic, who managed to get the ball over Vucevic's swat attempt.
Orlando had a 31-16 rebounding edge at the half. Vucevic had 12 of those.
It took Miami's final shot of the third quarter -- an unintentional straight-on bank shot by James Johnson -- before the Heat could forge a tie at 87.
The Heat led by as many as four points in the fourth quarter, but the Magic rallied to send Miami to its first back-to-back losses since Dec. 14.
NOTES: Heat SG Dion Waiters (ankle injury) and Magic SF Aaron Gordon (foot) each returned after missing three consecutive games. ... Five Heat veterans are enjoying career years in scoring -- F James Johnson, G Tyler Johnson, SG Wayne Ellington, C Willie Reed and C Hassan Whiteside. Two more Heat veterans are less than one point from career highs in scoring: PG Goran Dragic and Waiters. ... Whiteside, who led the NBA in blocks last season, is now first in rebounds. ... Up next, Miami visits the Houston Rockets on Wednesday. Orlando hosts the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday.