Heat welcome magic to south beach

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The Miami Heat has won two of the first three meetings with the Orlando Magic this season heading into Thursday night's crucial contest in the Eastern Conference standings

At the time of this writing, the board is Orlando Magic +4.5 (2.02, +102) and Miami Heat (1.93, -108)

Orlando has dropped two of three meetings against Miami this season and look to even up the series while gaining ground in the Eastern Conference standings. The Magic are 4 1/2 games behind the Heat heading into tonight's clash and come in riding a three-game winning streak, including a 116-110 win over New York on Tuesday. "We played hard and we got to the point where we drew the line and we said we're not going to let this one slip away," said Quentin Richardson. The team has tallied a 39-22 overall record, including a 15-13 mark on the road. Orlando is 1-5 ATS as an underdog this year and 25-19 ATS in this situation the past three years.

The Magic are 41-45 all-time against the Heat and have posted a 17-25 record on the road in the series. Orlando has won 15 of the last 20 regular season meetings with Miami. All-Star center Dwight Howard has been playing great basketball of late, scoring 30 points and grabbing 16 rebounds in the victory against the Knicks. He's averaged 20.0 points and 13.7 rebounds in three match-ups against the Heat this season.

Miami enters Thursday night's game with a disappointing 13-14 record against teams .500 or better, which is far different from the 29-2 mark posted against losing clubs. The Heat dropped their latest on Sunday night against the Knicks with a 91-86 loss. "We've got to figure it out," said guard Dwyane Wade. "That's why we continue to play these games. We continue to build habits." All-Star forward LeBron James definitely figured it out in his last encounter with Orlando, dropping a season-high 51 points in a 104-100 victory on February 3. Miami is 25-27 ATS as a favorite this season.

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