Magic at Heat
The Miami Heat have controlled the matchups with Orlando in recent seasons and look for their 11th consecutive victory over the host Magic on Monday. Miami had little trouble with Orlando during the LeBron James era and kept its winning ways going with a 99-92 road win over the Magic on Nov. 22. The Heat are 2-4 as they close a seven-game homestand – they lost 103-95 to Memphis on Saturday – while Orlando posted a 102-94 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday.
The Heat have badly missed Chris Bosh – who is expected to miss his ninth straight game due to a calf injury – and have fallen three games below .500. “That’s when you can grow the most when you embrace the struggle, learn from it and get over that struggle,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters. “We’re not quite there yet.” The victory over Charlotte was just the third in 10 games for the Magic.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSN Florida (Orlando), Sun Sports (Miami)
ABOUT THE MAGIC (12-21): Nikola Vucevic had a big game in the November loss to the Heat with a career-best 33 points to go with 17 rebounds. He had 22 points and 11 rebounds against the Hornets on Saturday for his 17th double-double of the season as he continues to progress toward being one of the league’s top all-around big men. “I feel like I’ve always been a good passer and can read the defenses pretty well,” Vucevic told reporters. “The last two games, whenever I’ve caught it, defenses make moves and people cut and I find them going to the basket.”
ABOUT THE HEAT (14-17): Forward Danny Granger had his best performance since joining Miami when he scored a season-best 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting in the loss to Memphis. Granger has never regained his previous form after suffering a knee injury with the Indiana Pacers and he is hopeful of reviving his career with the Heat. Granger has put together back-to-back productive outings as he had nine points on 4-of-5 shooting in the Christmas Day victory over Cleveland.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Miami is 5-10 in December after entering December 9-7.
2. Orlando F Tobias Harris scored 21 points against the Hornets and has scored in double digits in all 31 games he’s played this season.
3. Heat G Dwyane Wade has topped 20 points in each of his last six games and is averaging 29.5 points during the stretch.