The Miami Heat hosted the Orlando Magic, with both teams playing above .500.
Bam Adebayo hit a big jump shot with 18.5 to play. Heat was up 1.
Paolo Banchero finished with 25 points, eight rebounds, and six assists but missed three tries in the final seconds.
“I felt like I had it going in the last two minutes; I got to my spot at the end and had another great look. I couldn’t ask for a better opportunity than that,” Banchero said. “We played well enough to win; I couldn’t play well down the stretch for us to win. Give credit to the Heat; we should have won that game.”
Heat won 99-96 over Magic.
“We had to win it ugly,” Adebayo said.
Adebayo finished with 21 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. Duncan Robison had 23 points, Jaime Jaquez Jr. had 19.
NBA teams are 7-107 this season when scoring fewer than 100 points.
Heat improved to 8-0 against Southeast division opponents, keeping the Heat, the last team in the NBA, unbeaten in division games.
The Magic went 12-20 from the free throw line and were outscored in the paint 52-38.
Magic will visit Oklahoma City on a back-to-back.
Heat host Charlotte on Sunday.
