LAS VEGAS — The Magic and the Heat met seven times between the preseason and regular season this past year so it was only fitting the in-state rivals faced off against each other again at Summer League on Saturday afternoon.
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In a back-and-forth battle between the Sunshine State foes, Orlando took control in the third quarter by leaning on their defense in order to secure their first win in Las Vegas, 93-88, against Miami inside Cox Pavilion on the campus of UNLV.
Magic second-year guard Jase Richardson (15 points), two-way center Colin Castleton (15), guard Lester Quinones (15) and second-year forward Noah Penda (12) combined for 57 points in the five-point victory.
Orlando trailed by six points at the half after Miami controlled the paint early, but the Magic responded well in the third quarter by outscoring the Heat 33-18 across the shorter 10-minute Summer League period.
For Miami, duo Trevor Keels (32) and Jahmir Young (27) combined for 59 points, but only scored 25 points total in the second half.
Castleton scored majority of his points in the paint and added one 3-pointer from the top of the key. After facing a tough challenge in Charlotte’s 7-foot-1 Ryan Kalkbrenner on Thursday night, Castleton found himself jarring with Heat 7-footer Vladislav Goldin.
Penda got off to a slow start by taking just one shot in the opening quarter and at times faced multiple defenders. While his afternoon was highlighted by a challenging step-back triple early in the third quarter and later a clutch block on Goldin with 15.1 seconds left in the game, he recorded six turnovers.
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Magic second-round pick Izaiyah Nelson was often vocal on defense and helped direct traffic on that end of the court while recording two steals and a block in 17 minutes. The rookie forward added six points with two assists and two rebounds when Orlando’s bench outscored Miami’s 32-8.
Key contributions from Magic reserves included nine points apiece from TyTy Washington Jr. and Philip Wheeler.
The Magic made a concerted effort to push the pace and get down the court as quickly as possible, but at times made poor decisions, which led to a bevy of turnovers. The Heat totaled 13 points off 19 takeaways.
Magic forward Jamal Cain, who previously spent time in Miami on a two-way contract, was in attendance for the matchup. As were various members of Orlando’s front office including president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman, general manager Anthony Parker, senior advisor to the president of basketball operations John Hammond and executive vice president of basketball operations Pete D’Alessandro.
Orlando has a quick turnaround when it returns to Cox Pavilion on Sunday for the second night of a back-to-back against the Trail Blazers (7 p.m., ESPNU).
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Jason Beede can be reached at [email protected]