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Turkoglu, Magic snap Heat's nine-game winning streak

Mar 19, 2007 - 3:12 AM MIAMI (Ticker) -- The Orlando Magic may be struggling. However, that's not the case when it comes to their intrastate rival.

Hedo Turkoglu scored 20 points and Dwight Howard had 17 and 11 rebounds as the Magic cruised to a 97-83 triumph over the Miami Heat, who had a season-high nine-game winning streak stopped.

Orlando has won its last three meetings against Miami.

"We played Miami well all year," Magic coach Brian Hill said. "We got off to a good start and just never let them get any going. We really felt confident that we could win this game. We played solid defensively."

With the win, the Magic (31-37) pulled within one game of the idled Indiana Pacers (29-34) for eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings.

"We all have to do our jobs a little better more often and then we'll be there (in a playoff spot)," Turkoglu said.

"This was a really good win," Hill said. "If we could just find a way to keep that edge like we do against good teams like this, we'll be OK."

A 6-10 forward from Turkey, Turkoglu stepped up huge after playing just nine minutes in Saturday's setback. On Sunday, he shot 8-of-18, including 2-of-4 from 3-point range.

"This was a great win and hopefully it will give us confidence so that we can learn from it and move ahead," Turkoglu said.

With a 12-point edge already in hand after the opening period, the Magic closed the first half with a 10-4 surge to build a 55-37 lead.

"Just one of those games," Heat center Shaquille O'Neal said. "They jumped on us pretty quick, we made a lot of mistakes and they shot the ball well. Usually we get out of holes, but we couldn't. It happens like that every now and then."

Miami could not recover in the second half and also had its 14-game home winning streak halted. It was the longest streak at home since reeling off 18 in row from January 23-April 5, 2005.

O'Neal scored 20 points and James Posey added 14 for Miami (36-30), which fell one game behind idle Washington (36-28) for the top spot in the Southeast Division.

"We just got rolled," Miami coach Pat Riley said. "I don't say it by throwing it away, but they just came in and rolled us. It's a case of the 'ers. Betters, fasters, quickers, smarters."