After a tough loss to the Nets, the Heat wasn’t about to let it happen against Orlando

The Heat wasn’t going to let it happen again.

A night after it was blown out on its home floor by the Brooklyn Nets, the Miami Heat overcame a poor first half to beat the Orlando Magic 117-111 at the Amway Center and avoid back-to-back losses against teams with losing records.

The Heat (19-17) fell behind by 18 points to open the third quarter and appeared headed to another deflating defeat.

Tyler Johnson came alive on the offensive end in the third quarter, scoring 22 of his season-high 31 points in the period on 10-of-11 shooting. And that lone miss was a rushed, well-contested jumper Johnson took as he tried to beat the buzzer.

Johnson hit the deck hard and landed on his face with 5:34 left in the fourth quarter but returned to the game after a timeout.

Goran Dragic, who had also been mired in a shooting slump as he had dealt with an injured left elbow, finished with 25 points on went 11 of 22 from the field.

Dragic’s runner with 2:04 left in the fourth gave the Heat the lead at 107-105 for the first time since it led 9-7 in the first quarter.

Aaron Gordon, who did not play when the Heat faced the Magic on Tuesday, finished with 39 points, but he missed a three down the stretch that would have tied the score. Johnson put the game out of reach with two free throws after collecting that rebound.

This story was originally published December 30, 2017 at 9:33 PM with the headline "After a tough loss to the Nets, the Heat wasn’t about to let it happen against Orlando."