Magic at Heat
THE STORY: With another successful return to Cleveland in the books, LeBron James sets his sights on a geographical rival Sunday afternoon as he leads the Miami Heat into a showdown with the visiting Orlando Magic. Miami will be looking for a measure of revenge in this one after dropping a 102-89 decision in Orlando earlier this month. A 111-87 evisceration of the Cavaliers on Friday night marked the eighth win in nine games for the Heat, who suddenly find themselves with the best record in the NBA.
TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
ABOUT THE MAGIC (20-11): The Magic have ripped off four consecutive victories to keep pace with the red-hot Heat. Orlando limited Milwaukee to 11 fourth-quarter points and Dwight Howard had yet another dominant showing with 26 points and 20 rebounds as the Magic rallied to beat the Bucks 94-85 last time out. Howard is showing no ill effects from the condensed season, averaging 20.3 points and a career-best 15.3 rebounds in just over 38 minutes per game.
ABOUT THE HEAT (24-7): With much of the focus on James hinting at the possibility of an eventual return to the Cavaliers, the club's recent play has flown under the radar. That will likely change with another strong showing Sunday afternoon. Since losing to the Magic, Miami has reeled off five straight road victories by an average margin of 18.8 points. The Heat didn't score fewer than 105 points in any of those wins, and average a league-best 103.7 points overall.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. James was held to just 17 points against Orlando, 11 points below his season average.
2. Despite Howard being the best rebounder on either team, Miami actually owns a better rebounding differential – 3.19 compared to the Magic's 1.03.
3. The Magic have prevailed in five of the last seven meetings.