WATCH MAGIC-HEAT ON FUBO TV FOLLOW LIVE: @OMAGICDAILY Tickets: $49-$3,651 on StubHub Season Series: Heat 115, Magic 106 in Orlando on Dec. 20; Heat 99, Magic 96 in Miami on Jan. 12; Tonight in Orlando; Feb. 6 in Miami
Pace
Off. Rtg.
Def. Rtg.
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eFG%
O.Reb.%
TO%
FTR
Miami
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97.8
113.8
113.0
53.9
27.1
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13.7
27.8
Orlando
99.1
112.2
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111.5
52.9
30.2
14.8
30.2
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Our Record: 27-15/22-20 ATS
Everyone has been asking the question and wondering when this Orlando Magic team would be healthy. There has been a fair amount of frustration with the Magic’s return to injury process as they insist on trying to get players into practices and test them physically before throwing them in. And that does not even get into the lineup and rotation questions.
But it does finally look like the Magic are going to be whole again. The injury report is the cleanest it has looked since November with only Franz Wagner (QUESTIONABLE, sprained ankle) and Gary Harris (OUT, calf strain) on the report.
That may alleviate some of the concerns of the Magic’s drop in the standings. Orlando has to start getting things into high gear as they are now closer to the 9-seed than the 4-seed for the first time in months. It is about keeping pace.
The Orlando Magic also have to get over the bugaboo of their rivals in the Miami Heat. They will see Jimmy Butler for the first time this season and the Heat will have all of their offensive weapons available with Tyler Herro probable to play and Duncan Robinson available to play.
This game will come down to the Magic’s depth, which should be returning to form now with Wagner likely to return and potentially a lineup change with it. And then it will come down to whether the Magic can limit the Heat’s free throw attempts and ability to shoot from deep.
Orlando Magic fans have been waiting for some time for Franz Wagner to get back on the court. Ever since rolling his ankle against the Sacramento Kings back on Jan. 3, it has been a struggle for this team to get going as injuries and illness followed Wagner’s absence.
It should be safe to say that these past two weeks will be the lowest this team feels all season. Or at least that has to be hope.
Here are the numbers since Wagner’s injury (including that double-overtime loss against the Kings): The Magic went 3-6 with a 109.2 offensive rating and a 113.8 defensive rating. That -4.6 net rating was 23rd in the league during that time.
It was undoubtedly a difficult stretch for the Magic. We saw Paolo Banchero have to shoulder a lot more of the offensive burden and carry the team offensively. It has been a struggle even if Banchero has grown tremendously.
But no doubt, the Magic are missing Wagner’s 20.9 points per game. The team will function better on both ends with Wagner on the floor.
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Heat Seeking Depth
It is weird to think the Miami Heat are not a super deep team. They seem to pluck guys from relative obscurity. But ever since their gutsy win over the Orlando Magic a few weeks ago at Kaseya Center, the Miami Heat have struggled. Miami is just 2-2 and that includes going 1-2 since Jimmy Butler’s return from a toe injury.
Some of that has to do with injuries. Jaime Jaquez Jr., who was so critical in both of Miami’s wins over Orlando, will be OUT for Sunday’s game with a left groin strain. He scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the game a few weeks ago in Miami with the Heat down a lot of injured players too.
So far this season, Miami is 11th in the league scoring 37.3 points per game off the bench. They have lost a lot of games from teams being able to outpace them on the bench. The Magic have the fourth highest-scoring bench in the league. And getting back their depth will only help restore this team.
Free Throw Shortage
A big part of the Orlando Magic’s attack is to win the battle at the free throw line — both getting to the line and defending without fouling. And this is undoubtedly an area that the team has struggled since Franz Wagner went out — not that Wagner gets to theline a ton, but he puts pressure on teams and gets them out of position to force fouls.
The Magic are second in the league with a 30.2 percent free throw rate (essentially three free throws for every 10 field goal attempts). But since Wagner’s injury, the Magic have a 27.5 percent free throw rate. That is a significant slip considering how small the margins are for the Magic to score.
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The worst part is how the defense has slipped.
Next. OMD Mailbag 01.21.24. OMD Mailbag: Looking past the midpoint of the season. dark
The Magic have given up a 28.2 percent free throw rate this season (again highlighting why the Magic need to get to the foul line). The Heat are good at getting to the foul line and a lot of this game will get determined on who can force their way to the line more.
ORLANDO, Fla. — Lionel Messi scored twice in a four-goal second half, defender Telasco Segovia added a goal and two assists and defending champion Inter Miami CF rallied to beat Orlando City SC 4-2 on Sunday night, winning for the first time at Inter&Co Stadium.
Messi took a pass from Segovia and scored in the 57th minute to tie it 2-2, and Segovia scored unassisted in the 85th for the lead. Messi put the finishing touch on the victory when he scored off a free kick in the 90th.
“The victory belongs exclusively to the players,” Miami coach Javier Mascherano said after the game. “In the second half, they were a championship team. There were no tactics, nothing like that. There was heart, courage, possession, resilience, commitment. I think the team came out because they were champions last year.
“In the end, the players showed it. This victory is theirs.”
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Messi’s first two goals of the season give him 52 in his first 55 regular-season MLS matches — 51 of them in his past 49 appearances. It also brought the reigning MLS MVP to 898 career goals scored, including 672 for Barcelona and 115 for Argentina.
“He’s the best player to ever play this sport. He’s a leader, and as a leader, he inspires others, but he also often needs to be inspired himself,” Mascherano said of Messi. “When he was driving forward, he had more attacking options, and with so many opportunities, he clearly has the ability to create chances like no one else, and that’s what allowed us to turn the game around.”
Marco Pašalić took a pass from Iván Angulo and scored in the 18th minute to give Orlando City a 1-0 lead. Pašalić has scored in four straight matches against Inter Miami.
Inter Miami players celebrate after scoring a goal against Orlando City in MLS.
Defender Griffin Dorsey set up Martín Ojeda for a goal six minutes later for a 2-0 advantage that stood through halftime.
Inter Miami cut it to 2-1 four minutes into the second half on Mateo Silvetti’s first career goal. Defenders Segovia and Facundo Mura had assists as the 20-year-old forward found the net in his fifth career appearance.
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Segovia had eight goals and six assists as a rookie last season, while Mura collected his first assist in his first season.
Dayne St. Clair, the reigning goalkeeper of the year, turned away three shots — all in the second half of his second start with Inter Miami, but let in a soft goal for Orlando’s first.
Maxime Crépeau had four saves in his second start for Orlando City.
Teenager Colin Guske, 19, will miss Orlando City’s next match after the rookie picked up two yellow cards in his first start — the second one led to his exit in the 88th minute.
Inter Miami, which had never won in its previous nine trips to Orlando, was coming off a 3-0 road loss to LAFC.
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Orlando City swept Inter Miami during the regular season last year and leads the all-time series 8-7-4.
Inter Miami plays D.C. United on Saturday at Audi Field. Orlando City is also on the road with a match against New York City FC.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this recap.
Rain floods Miami Beach streets, cut short Miami Heat Family Festival
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — Much-needed rain fell across South Florida on Sunday, but the downpour quickly led to flooding and traffic headaches.
“The drainage systems aren’t the best but in ten minutes it will be gone,” one person said.
The rain lasted longer than 10 minutes, flooding several spots along Collins Avenue in Miami Beach.
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In one neighborhood, at least a foot of water blocked the entrance. Drivers who attempted to pass through sent waves crashing onto nearby sidewalks.
The heavy rain also snarled traffic on parts of Interstate 95 and on the bridges to and from Miami Beach, slowing drivers trying to get around the area.
“It’s Miami for you. What do they call it, a sun shower?” one driver said.
The weather disrupted Sunday plans for many. The 26th annual Miami Heat Family Festival was cut short after strong winds swept through Dan Paul Plaza, knocking over several tents.
There is no word yet on how or when the Miami Heat plan to make up the family festival.
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Brett Knese
Brett Knese joined the Local 10 News team as a general assignment reporter in March 2025.
Jack and Jill of America’s Miami chapter closed out Black History Month with an inaugural “Roots Across Waters” trip to Nassau, where families explored ancestral sites, honored the Bahamian labor that helped build early Miami, and donated Afro‑Caribbean children’s books to local students.
