ORLANDO, Fla. _ In the wake of recent road woes, the Miami Heat turned things inside-out in Saturday night's 102-89 victory over the Orlando Magic at the Amway Center.
The pressure at the rim was constant.
The assault from distance efficient.
With Jimmy Butler thriving in attack mode, Meyers Leonard and Bam Adebayo loading up on rebounds, and Tyler Herro draining 3-pointers, the Heat made it two victories over the Magic in a week and improved to 33-15.
Butler closed with 24 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field, 8 of 9 from the line.
Leonard put together his second double-double as a member of the Heat, with 18 points and 14 rebounds, with Adebayo 14 rebounds of his own, on a quiet four-point night.
Then there was Herro, who closed 6 of 10 on 3-pointers, on the way to 23 points, part of the Heat's 15-of-33 3-point efficiency.
The Heat used to a 10-2 run at the end of the second quarter to move to a 57-49 halftime lead, limiting Orlando to two points over the final 3:20 of the period.
There then was a push to a 13-point lead in the third quarter before the Heat went into the fourth up 76-67.
Butler offered a measured performance, particularly in terms of where he found his shot, opening 5 of 6, with all five conversions in the paint.
From there, he moved to 7 of 8 in the paint.
That left him with 12 points at halftime and 19 heading into the fourth quarter.
About the only forced Butler outside attempts was a wayward 3-point attempt just before the 24-second buzzer late in the fourth quarter.
After missing three games with a sore Achilles, Kendrick Nunn was back in the starting lineup, with Herro returning to a reserve role.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said he appreciated the rookie guard taking a prudent approach with the injury.
"He trusts the whole staff and the whole process of when his ankle, Achilles wasn't feeling right to make sure that he felt normal again," Spoelstra said. "He has put in a lot of work behind the scenes. We've missed him, certainly. Thankfully, he hasn't been out for an extended period of time."
Nunn closed 2 of 5 for six points in 16 minutes.
That allowed Herro to step back into his comfort zone with the second unit, allowing for more of his improvisation with the ball.
Like Butler, Herro had 12 points at the intermission.
With Nunn back and Herro back with the second unit, it had Dion Waiters out of the mix after three consecutive appearances, his only appearances of his suspension-filled season.
