ORLANDO, Fla. – Glen Davis had 18 points, Dwight Howard and Jason Richardson each added 15 and the Orlando Magic overcame a 14-point halftime deficit to beat the Miami Heat 104-100 on Wednesday night in the preseason finale for both teams.
Davis had a 13-point third quarter to help ignite the comeback and Orlando got a late lift from its reserves to secure the win, including strong fourth-quarter efforts by veteran Larry Hughes and rookie Justin Harper.
LeBron James had 27 points and Dwyane Wade added 21 for the Heat. Reserve Norris Cole chipped in 11 points.
Both teams open the regular season as part of the NBA's four-game Christmas Day schedule. Miami travels to defending champion Dallas for a finals rematch and Oklahoma City hosts the Magic.
Both teams entered Wednesday night's game dealing with some training camp injury issues. The Magic played without Hedo Turkoglu, who sat with a bruised left hip. Quentin Richardson took his place in the starting lineup. The Heat also were tender, with Mike Miller (hernia), Shane Battier (quadriceps), Eddy Curry (hip) and Eddie House (knee) all resting.
Whether it was just the injury bug or something else, the rust definitely showed for both sides early on.
James badly missed on a pair of free throws in the opening minutes, including an air ball on one attempt.
Both James and his teammates were able to settle down, however, with James and Wade each scoring to push the lead to as many as 23 en route to the halftime advantage.
Orlando missed its first 12 shots from the field overall and its first 13 3-point attempts. The Magic regrouped to make 8 of its final 14 shots from beyond the arc.
The matchup of division rivals did have a small dust-up late in the third quarter when Richardson was called for a technical after he was caught delivering a shoulder into James' chest. The contact came after the pair collided while running down the court.
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