ORLANDO, Fla. — Nikola Vucevic scored 29 points and Evan Fournier added 28 to help the Orlando Magic beat the Miami Heat 112-109 on Friday night.
In a game that had 23 lead chances and was tied 11 times, neither team had much breathing room. Both converted big shots, but the Magic came up with the biggest down the stretch.
After the game was tied for the 11th time, Vucevic came up with a driving basket from the baseline in the waning seconds to give the Magic a 111-109 lead. Then, reserve Devyn Marble made a steal off Luol Deng’s inbounds pass to Joe Johnson with 3.4 seconds remaining. Evan Fournier converted one of two free throws with 2.7 seconds left, and Miami’s Dwyane Wade missed a half-court shot.
The loss dropped the Heat (46-33) one game behind Atlanta and Boston in the battle for the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Miami is tied with Charlotte for fifth place.
PISTONS 112, WIZARDS 99: Reggie Jackson had 39 points and nine assists and Detroit clinched its first postseason spot in seven years with a victory over visiting Washington.
Detroit’s last playoff berth came in 2009 when it was swept in the first round by Cleveland.
RAPTORS 111, PACERS 98: Rookie Norman Powell scored a season-high 27 points and Toronto won at home, preventing Indiana from clinching a playoff spot.
The Pacers need one more win or a Chicago loss to qualify for the postseason.
MAVERICKS 103, GRIZZLIES 93: Dirk Nowitzki scored 17 points and Dallas overcame an injury to sparkplug J.J. Barea, winning at home to move to the brink of another playoff spot.
The Mavericks, who had already slowed their pace considerably because of injuries, had to reconfigure their offense again when Barea left because of a right groin strain in the first half.
The Mavericks will make the postseason for the 15th time in 16 seasons with a win or Houston loss in the final three games.
Tony Allen scored 25 points to lead injury-riddled Memphis, which lost for the seventh time in eight games.
NUGGETS 102, SPURS 98: Jusuf Nurkic scored a career-high 21 points, Gary Harris had two pivotal defensive plays in the waning seconds and Denver snapped a 10-game skid against visiting San Antonio.
Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich gave every starter except Tim Duncan the night off, resting LaMarcus Aldridge, Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green and Tony Parker. Reserves Manu Ginobili and Boris Diaw also sat out.
PELICANS 110, LAKERS 102: Alexs Ajinca set career highs with 28 points and 15 rebounds as New Orleans beat visiting Los Angeles.
KNICKS 109, 76ERS 102: Carmelo Anthony scored 20 points and Robin Lopez had 24 points and 15 rebounds to lead New York to a win at Philadelphia.
NOTES
SUNS: Guard Brandon Knight underwent surgery to treat a sports hernia.
CAVALIERS: Backup point guard Mo Williams returned from the team’s road trip to undergo further evaluation on his injured left knee.
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