It’s Thursday, December 26, and bragging rights in Florida are on the line as the Miami Heat (14-13) and Orlando Magic (19-12) get set to square off from Kia Center in Orlando. The Heat are currently 4-8 on the road with a point differential of 3, while the Magic have an 8-2 record in their last ten games at home.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch tipoff, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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Game details & how to watch Heat vs. Magic live today
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Game odds for Heat vs. Magic
The latest odds as of Thursday:
That gives the Heat an implied team point total of 103.88, and the Magic 104.66.
Want to know which sportsbook is offering the best lines for every game on the NBA calendar? Check out the NBC Sports’ Live Odds tool to get all the latest updated info from DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM & more!
Expert picks & predictions for Thursday Heat vs. Magic game
NBC Sports Bet Best Bet
Vaughn Dalzell expects a slow start to this game: 1Q Under 53.5 (-115)
“These two just played on Saturday and the result was a 121-114 win for the Magic. Miami led the 1Q 40-28 and the first meeting featured a 32-32 1Q. Yet, the 1Q total is set at 53.5 for the third matchup. I think that is telling, especially after Christmas. I will bet on a sluggish start and these teams to lock in on one another in the third meeting of the season and second in the last week.”
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NBA calendar based on data points like recent performance, head-to-head player matchups, trends information and projected game totals.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projections next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for today’s Heat & Magic game:
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Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Moneyline.
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Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Orlando Magic at -1.5.
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Total: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play on the OVER on the Game Total of 208.5.
Want even more NBA best bets and predictions from our expert staff & tools? Check out the Expert NBA Predictions page from NBC Sports for money line, spread and over/under picks for every game on today’s calendar!
Important stats, trends & insights to know ahead of Heat vs. Magic on Thursday
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline, and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our NBA Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
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– Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)
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