ORLANDO - The Heat wants to make the playoffs, while the Magic wants the season to end. The result Wednesday showed as much.
Miami won its season-best sixth straight by running out to a big lead and cruising 105-90 against the Magic. Eddie Jones scored 17 of his 28 in the third quarter, and Lamar Odom had 20 points and 14 rebounds for his 33rd double double. Dwyane Wade added 24 points and seven assists.
"We knew that if we could defend and rebound, then we could run," Miami coach Stan Van Gundy said. "I was upset with the times we didn't defend because it took away our chances."
Miami shot 49 percent, with 54 points in the paint and 31 on fastbreaks. The Heat also made 20 of 21 free throws. Over the second and third quarters, the Heat put the game out of reach, scoring 60 while shooting 54 percent (22-for-41). Keying the breakout was a defense that held Orlando to 40 percent shooting after the first quarter.
"Offensively, we've always had guys who could score," said Jones, who started 1-of-7 from the floor, but finished with a 10-of-15 burst. "But now we're putting it down on the defensive end and making it hard for other teams to score."
The Heat, in sweeping its intrastate rival for the first time, topped 100 points in all four games. Against the rest of the league, Miami has 13 100-point games, and two were in overtime.
Magic defenders were slow down the floor, prompting boos late in the first quarter when Wade drove for a fastbreak layup. That was among 11 layups or dunks Orlando gave up en route to an 11-point halftime deficit.
"Guys were just driving the lane, getting shots. We need to find a way to stop that," said Tracy McGrady, who scored 18 in his return from a two-game absence after the death of a great-grandmother. "It's frustrating to work hard for your shot, and then have them turn around and get easy baskets."
76ERS 99, SUNS 94: Samuel Dalembert had 23 points and 14 rebounds to lead host Philadelphia, which was without injured All-Star Allen Iverson (knee) a second straight game. Eric Snow had 19 points and three key free throws with 20.6 seconds left for the Sixers, who moved to 6-1 without Iverson.
Joe Johnson scored 27 for the Suns, and Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudamire added 24 each. Johnson had eight straight points to put the Suns ahead 74-60 with 2:10 remaining in the third.
The Sixers chipped away and cut the lead to two with 4:25 left. After a steal by Willie Green, Kyle Korver made an open 3 from the corner to give Philadelphia its first lead of the second half. Green made a 19-footer on the next possession to close out a 19-4 run.
GRIZZLIES 111, KNICKS 97: Visiting Memphis scored 27 off 16 first-half turnovers, taking control early against an injury-ravaged Knicks team missing Allan Houston (bruised quadriceps) and Tim Thomas (strained groin). Pau Gasol scored 23, James Posey added 17 for the Grizzlies.
Stromile Swift had four blocks and three steals for the Grizzlies, who bested their league-leading averages in steals (9.64) and turnovers forced (17.2). They finished with 10 and 19, respectively. Stephon Marbury had 23 points and 10 assists for New York, which remained seventh in the East.
PACERS 103, MAVS 99: Ron Artest had 20 points, eight steals and eight rebounds to lead host Indiana. The Pacers outrebounded Dallas 29-16 in the second half and kept their composure as the Mavericks came unglued to improve to 3-0 in games without leading scorer and rebounder Jermaine O'Neal (knee). Dallas was missing Michael Finley (strained calf), the team's second-leading scorer.
The Pacers received solid contributions from Austin Croshere and Al Harrington to fill O'Neal's void. Harrington had 17 points and eight rebounds, and Croshere dominated the fourth quarter. He scored 11 of his 16 in an eight-minute span to lift the league-leading Pacers (52-19). His 3-pointer with 4:15 to play gave Indiana a 92-84 lead.
WILLIAMS TRIAL: A forensic pathologist challenged the testimony of a key prosecution witness in the manslaughter trial of former player Jayson Williams, saying blood evidence showed Benoit Benjamin was not within 5 feet of Williams when his shotgun discharged and killed a limousine driver. Dr. Michael Baden said Benjamin did not have blood stains on his clothing after the shooting two years ago.
"If he had been there, there would have been back spatter and blood stains (on his clothing)," Baden said. Three weeks ago, Benjamin testified at the trial in Somerville, N.J., he was standing 4-5 feet from Williams when his former Nets teammate shot Costas "Gus" Christofi.
