Heat vs. Magic: LeBron James and Dwight Howard Meet Inside the Amway Center

Miami Heat at Orlando Magic
Wednesday, 2/8/12, 7:00 PM EST, TV: SUN
Opening Point Spread: Miami -3
Current Betting Line: Miami -3.5
Opening Total: 192
Current Total: 191
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker

Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard has struggled offensively against the Miami Heat

Miami is set to play the second game of a back-to-back situation Wednesday night in traveling to take on the Orlando Magic inside the Amway Center. The Heat have won three games in a row, including a convincing 107-91 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers as 13.5-point home favorites. “They have looked unbelievable,” commented Orlando Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy. Heat star forward LeBron James has scored 30-plus points in 13 games this season, averaging 29.0 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. Miami is 11-4 ATS as a road favorite of 3.5 to 6 points the last two-plus seasons.

The Heat are 7-4 on the road this season, which includes a 5-1 mark when playing on the road. Miami split its four games with Orlando a year ago, but captured a 104-100 win as one-point road underdogs in its last game inside tonight’s venue. A victory in this contest would give the franchise its best 26-game start in franchise history, pushing its record to 20-6 on the year.

Orlando has seemingly come to life in winning three of its last four games, which directly followed a miserable four-game losing streak. The Magic are coming off a hard-fought 107-102 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Clippers as one-point home underdogs. “Our guys played heard,” stated Van Gundy after the game. Magic center Dwight Howard will be a key player to watch in the paint, averaging 24.4 points and 13.7 rebounds in his last seven games, but he’s managed to eclipse the 19-point mark just once in his last eight meetings with the Heat. Orlando is 4-2 ATS as an underdog this year.

The Magic are 8-5 at home this season, which includes a 6-3 record against Eastern Conference foes. Orlando has won 16 of its last 21 regular-season meetings in this series, which included 10 consecutive wins from April 9, 2006 to Jan. 2, 2009. Hitting shots from beyond the arc is a big part of this team’s success, with the team coming in hitting 38.5 percent of its shots from beyond the arc, which ranks sixth in the NBA. Defensively, the team is allowing just 91.7 points per game, which ranks eighth in the league.