Heat 112, Magic 110 (OT)
ORLANDO, Fla. -- LeBron James scored 10 of the Heat's 13 overtime points, and Miami outlasted the Orlando Magic 112-110 Monday evening.
James finished with 36 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds as the defending NBA champions snapped a two-game losing streak.
James has scored 20 more points in each of Miami's first 29 games, passing former Boston Celtics star and current Houston Rockets coach Kevin McHale for the longest such streak to open a season since the NBA-ABA merger. McHale accomplished his feat in 1986-87. San Antonio Spurs legend George Gervin had a 45-game run in 1981-82.
J.J. Redick gave Orlando a 106-105 lead with 2:11 remaining in overtime, but Dwyane Wade, who missed his first three free-throw attempts in overtime, made one to tie it at 106-106 with 1:51 left.
Miami (21-8) moved ahead for good on a James layup with 1:06 left that made it 108-106. Wade's dunk with 6.2 seconds left sealed the outcome.
Aaron Afflalo scored 28 points for Orlando, now 12-19 after losing its sixth consecutive game. Nikola Vucevic had a career night with 20 points and a team-record 29 rebounds, and Reddick finished with 23 points.
Chris Bosh and Wade had 22 and 21 points, respectively, for the Heat, who were outrebounded 50-33.
Bosh sent the game into overtime with a 16-foot jumper that made it 99-99 with 35.8 seconds left.
James gave Miami a 91-89 lead on a 3-pointer with 3:36 remaining, but Vucevic answered with a jumper to tie. Afflalo scored five of the next six points to give Orlando a 97-93 lead.
A 13-0 Miami run at the outset of the fourth quarter gave the Heat a 79-77 lead on a James dunk with 9:36 play.
Miami scored the first seven points of the third quarter to take a 55-54 lead on a James jumper with 9:18 left, but Orlando responded by scoring the next eight points, then building a 77-66 lead on a Josh McRoberts layup with 51 seconds left in the period.
Vucevic outrebounded the Heat by himself before halftime (16-11) as Orlando turned a 31-22 first-quarter deficit into a 54-48 lead at the break.
Reddick and Vucevic each had 13 points in the opening half.
McRoberts hit two free throws to give Orlando a 42-40 lead with 5:09 remaining in the second quarter. Orlando took its biggest lead of the half at 52-44 with 1:04 left on a Vucevic free throw.
James had 10 points and five assists in the opening quarter for Miami. He, Bosh and Ray Allen accounted for 36 of Miami's 48 first-half points.
NOTES: In addition to missing Glen Davis, Jameer Nelson, and E'Twaun Moore, Orlando was without Gustavo Ayon because of a right thigh contusion. ... The old Magic record for rebounds in a game was 28, set by Shaquille O'Neal vs. the New Jersey Nets on Nov. 20, 1993.
