ORLANDO, Fla. - Veteran All-Star Dwyane Wade can't score as much as he once did - he's almost 34 years old - but he still knows when to score to win close games.
Wade, now in his 13th NBA season, scored 12 of his 24 points Saturday night in the final five minutes to lead the Miami Heat to a 108-101 victory over the Orlando Magic on Saturday night.
Forward Chris Bosh and guard Goran Dragic set the stage with 24 and 22 points, respectively, but they stepped aside down the stretch when Wade took control.
"Everybody had a hand in this one," said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. "But Dwyane really settled things down the stretch."
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Wade hit the go-ahead basket for the 91-89 lead the Heat never lost, providing his veteran leadership and spark that has marked his career when he re-entered the game with only six minutes remaining.
"CB (Chris Bosh) really did a great job keeping us afloat. Goran really played well. It was a total team win," Wade said. "I got my opportunity late, and I knew I had to be aggressive. I knew where my shots were going to come from. I just knew I had to do my job down the stretch."
Bosh, who had 30 points and 10 rebounds in an overtime victory Friday against New Orleans, also had 10 rebounds Saturday. The Heat (18-11) outscored the Magic 39-25 in the fourth quarter.
The Magic (17-13) were led by center Nikola Vucevic, who had 22 points and 10 rebounds. It was his fifth consecutive game of at least 20 points. Point guard Elfrid Payton had 18 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter.
Heat reserve Gerald Green had 15 points, making a pair of 3-pointers during the fourth-quarter rally. The Heat made 22 of 23 free throws, while the Magic made just six of 13.
The Magic shot 54.4 percent (43 of 79), but they collapsed defensively in the fourth when the Heat made 13 of 18 shots (72.2 percent) after trailing for 3 1/2 quarters.
"In the fourth quarter, we were breaking down all over the place," Magic coach Scott Skiles said. "We're trending in the wrong direction and we couldn't get it stopped."
The Magic got 13 points from Tobias Harris, 12 from Evan Fournier and 10 from reserve center Jason Smith.
The Heat took their first lead, at 82-81, since early in the game on a 3-pointer by Green with 8:32 remaining. Bosh had scored seven points earlier in the fourth quarter. Green hit another 3-pointer for the 87-85 lead.
"In a close game, D-Wade took over and just did what D-Wade does," Vucevic said. "They made some adjustments, and they have the good players who know what to do. Maybe we kind of panicked."
After trailing almost the entire first half - and down by 12 at intermission - the Heat used an 11-0 run early in the third period to pull within 66-64. Bosh scored six points in the run. Victor Oladipo hit a 3-pointer just before the third period ended for the 76-69 Magic lead.
Fournier scored the last five points before intermission, giving the Magic 56-44 lead. He had 12 points and hit a pair of 3-pointers before halftime. Vucevic had 10 points and eight rebounds in the first two periods.
Dragic had 12 points and four rebounds in the first half, but the Heat made only 15 of 39 shots (38.5 percent). The Magic hit 23 of 44 shots (52.3 percent) and made 6 of 12 from 3-point range to control the game early.
Heat center Hassan Whiteside, who leads the NBA in blocked shots (4.0 per game) got two fouls in the first five minutes and struggled through the first half. Whiteside, who was averaging 12.6 points and 11.3 rebounds, had no points, two blocks, and one rebound in 13 first-half minutes.
Magic rookie Mario Hezonja provided a spark with a pair of 3-pointers in the second quarter.
NOTES: The two rosters were quite a contrast Saturday night. The veteran Heat roster had a combined 29 All-Star appearances, and the youthful Magic had none. ... The upstart Magic have secured another winning month, giving them back-to-back winning months for the first time since February and March of 2012. ... The Magic have 17 victories. In the previous three seasons, they didn't win their 17th game until Feb. 11, Feb. 21 and March 4, respectively. ... Heat C Hassan Whiteside came into the game with 112 blocked shots, which is more than three entire teams have. Whiteside, in his fourth NBA season, also has three games this season of at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks. No other player in the NBA has more than one. ... The Heat seem to thrive playing on Christmas Day. By beating New Orleans Friday, they upped their record to 10-2. G Dwyane Wade is 10-1 on Christmas Day, the best winning percentage of any NBA player who has played in at least 10 Christmas Day games. Wade is leading all Eastern Conference guards in the first All-Star balloting results.
