With three quarters of Saturday’s matchup between the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat in the books, the Heat appeared to be a virtual lock to come out on top. The Heat held a 22-point lead heading into the final frame against an Orlando squad that was missing some of its top players.
But Miami proceeded to have a historically woeful final frame. The Heat were outscored by 29 points across the last 12 minutes of the game alone, as they mustered just eight points compared to Orlando’s 37.
Miami became the first team since December of 2019 to lose a game after holding a 22-point lead or more entering the fourth quarter. Following the embarrassing defeat, which also marked the Heat’s third consecutive loss, numerous users on X shared their candid thoughts, with some calling for Miami to blow things up.
It’s worth noting that the Heat didn’t have star veteran Jimmy Butler — who was sidelined with an illness — against the upstart Magic, and perhaps his presence would have changed the final outcome of the contest. But Butler’s absence doesn’t make Miami’s fourth-quarter performance any less concerning.
Miami’s eight points in the quarter marked the fewest points scored in a single frame by any team in the league since the start of the 2024-25 campaign. Orlando also hadn’t rallied all the way back from a 25-point deficit to earn a win since the year 1989, before the team even drafted star big man Shaquille O’Neal. The Heat led Saturday’s game by 25 in the first half.
The Heat are now back at the .500 mark on the season at 13-13 following their loss to the Magic, and they sit as the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference standings.
Heat fans should be interested in how the team responds after it suffered maybe its worst loss of the season thus far. Miami can snap its losing streak with a win over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night.
But if the Heat pick up their fourth loss in a row — this time to a lowly Nets team — perhaps the calls for Miami to blow it all up will only grow louder and stronger in the coming days.