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Magic beat Heat in preseason finale
Steve Francis scored 22 points, and the Orlando Magic rode an early double-figures lead to a 109-103 victory Wednesday night over the Miami Heat in the preseason finale for both.
Cuttino Mobley, Francis' backcourt partner, had 17 points, and forwards Dwight Howard and Grant Hill 14 each. Howard added 13 rebounds for his third double-double of the preseason.
The Heat never recovered from the quick start by the Magic. Orlando extended its advantage to 21 points late in the third quarter on Howard's three-point play and Jameer Nelson's fast-break layup.
Miami closed the gap to 90-84, but Hedo Turkoglu's 3-pointer with nine minutes to go kept the Heat at bay.
Off the Magic's bench, Turkoglu scored 18 points, shooting 7-for-9, while Tony Battie had 10 points and nine rebounds.
The teams tried using the last exhibition as a tuneup for the regular season, with the starters seeing most of the action. Still, O'Neal sat out much of the third quarter with foul trouble, and forward Rasual Butler played only nine minutes after bruising his hip.
Orlando center Andrew DeClercq probably will begin the season on the injured list, coach Johnny Davis said. The nine-year veteran is rehabbing from surgery on his right knee, and didn't play in the preseason. ... Miami forward Udonis Haslem missed his second straight game with a bruised left foot. |
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