MAGIC STUN HEAT IN FLORIDA SHOWDOWN

OVERTIME THRILLER ENDS WITH CLASSIC BATTLE

Vince Carter knew it was going to happen. Carter, the veteran Orlando swingman, had been noticing when he drove the ball to the basket Miami forward Michael Beasley sagged down to the lane to help defend, leaving Magic forward Rashard Lewis wide open. And that's exactly what happened late in overtime Thursday. Carter drove. Beasley, who usually isn't on the court at so late in a close game, came over to help. So, Carter passed to Lewis, who hit a 3-pointer from in front of the Heat's bench with 28.4 seconds left to deliver Orlando a 108-102 overtime victory at AmericanAirlines Arena. "I told him, 'If you're open I'm passing you the darn ball,' " Carter said. That was despite the fact Lewis missed two similar three-pointers in regulation. "I knew if he kept leaving me in the corner I was going to make one," Lewis said. The game-winning observation and game-winning jumper were extra special considering Orlando (49-21), which was playing the second night of a back-to-back, on the road, and without forward Mickael Pietrus (ankle). The Magic, which made 11 3-pointers, used a team effort to pick up the slack. Carter had a team-high 27 points, Lewis had 24 points and 11 rebounds, guard Jameer Nelson had 15 points, forward Matt Barnes had 13 points and nine rebounds, and center Dwight Howard, who was limited to 31 minutes because of foul trouble, finished with 10 points, 11 rebounds. "It was a good game," said Barnes, who had the burden of defending Heat guard Dwyane Wade. "We needed it." The Heat (35-34) is trying to emerge from a five-team battle for the final four Eastern Conference playoff spots. Miami entered Thursday's game as the No. 7 seed and had a chance to move into a statistical tie for sixth with Charlotte (35-32, .522) with a victory. The Heat remains the No. 7 seed with the loss. Miami stayed in Thursday's game thanks to a superb effort by Wade (36 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists). But Orlando smothered Wade in the overtime, sometimes sending the 6-foot-10 Lewis over to help defend. Wade was 0-for-1 for two points in overtime. Overall, Miami was 1-for-6 for seven points in the overtime. "We battled, we competed," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "I have no problem with the way we fought. We were in the fight." (NBA.com)