Heat Fall To 0-2 in Preseason With Overtime Loss

The Miami Heat are 0-2 in the preseason after their 108-101 overtime loss to the Orlando Magic on Tuesday.

James Ennis did all he could to help the Heat with a big fourth quarter but it wound up a wasted effort. Ennis had ten points in the fourth alone as part of a 14-point game. Ennis also added ten rebounds and five assists in the contest. The effort had Miami up two with 2.2 seconds left in regulation but the game wound up in the extra session where things ended on a down note.

Ennis has been a welcome sight for Miami in both of their exhibition games thus far and is opening eyes with his potential. While he will open the year on the bench as depth, Ennis could find himself with increased rotation minutes if he continues to bring a spark to the Heat.

Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade each played in excess of 20 minutes in this one. Bosh contributed 18 points, nine rebounds and an assist. Bosh also tallied a steal and was 0-3 on his three-point attempts. While Bosh will still take some shots from behind the perimeter this season, it will likely be at a reduced rate. The presence of Josh McRoberts should allow Bosh to play inside on a more regular basis.

Wade had 11 points with a pair of assists and steals. His 20:13 of court action was the lowest of any of the five starters but only by a small margin. Wade should start to see a bump in minutes as the preseason moves along. With a goal in mind of playing big minutes and in being in every game this year, Wade will need to find a balance of getting into game shape while staying fresh.

Luol Deng had a fine game himself with 18 points, six rebounds and three assists in 24 minutes on the court. As the heir apparent to LeBron James in Miami, Deng has big shoes to fill but has thus far shown why he was brought on board by the Heat.

In his first game action, Chris Andersen had seven points and five boards in 19 minutes. Andersen missed the preseason opener with a calf injury but was able to log substantial minutes and should be considered relatively healthy at this juncture.