There are a few things teams cannot do under any circumstances against the Heat.

You cannot turn the ball over and allow Miami to get out on the break. You cannot allow the Heat to get those highlight plays that energize the crowd at AmericanAirlines Arena and demoralize their opponents. You cannot allow Miami to take corner threes.

The Magic committed 18 turnovers, leading to 18 points. The Magic allowed the Heat to turn a 10-point lead into a 15-point halftime deficit and then a 20-point lead early on in the third quarter. That run included a fast break alley-oop to LeBron James and a strong tomahawk jam down an open lane. The Heat also took 28 3-pointers, many of them from those dangerous corners.

Despite all that, it was the other thing you cannot allow Miami to do that ended this game.

You cannot leave the game in the hands of the league's best player.

LeBron James will get what he wants when motivated. And he has the respect of the officials to get the questionable calls. He did not need any questionable call though to finish the game. LeBron James took DeQuan Jones off the dribble and got to the basket for the game-winning layup with three seconds left.

It was enough. The Magic played about as well as they could and had the chance to pull it out. Things -- whistles, shots, whatever -- did not go their way in a 97-96 loss at AmericanAirlines Arena on Wednesday.

The Magic though were certainly more than game after falling behidn by 20 points. A recommitment to defense and Nikola Vucevic's extreme hustle on the boards got the Magic back into the game by the end of the quarter. The Heat were not hitting shots they normally make and Vucevic controlling the glass enabled the Magic to get back on their own.

Nikola Vucevic did not quite have 29 rebounds like he did in the first meeting, but his 25 points and 21 rebounds were big in every way. He had nine offensive rebounds and scored 15 points in the second half for Orlando. Much like in the first meeting, Vucevic was getting those tip ins and finding himself in the right spot to clean up the glass.

The defense though was the big thing for the Magic. Tobias Harris was urging his team to commit on that end in the third quarter to spark the comeback and that is what the Magic did.

We are a week away from the bloodbath that will be Dwight Howard's first game back in Orlando. There is not a game Magic fans have anticipated more than any other this season.

He did not need to throw any fuel onto the fire to get Magic fans' ire up.

He may have done that anyway.

In an interview with Kristine Leahy of CBS2, Howard opened up about his transition to the Lakers and the criticisms he has received this season with the Lakers, and dating back to last year's back-and-forth with Orlando. In it, Howard tries to justify his approach to the game and his demeanor on the court. He says he "doesn't have a bad bone in his body" -- something you have to believe is true considering his vast charity work and the good he did in Orlando for so long ignroing the naivete of his final year.

Then he said something interesting about the pressure of playing for the Lakers.

Howard told Leahy that in Orlando, he was playing with a bunch of players "no one wanted."

What was meant by that comment is unclear. The CBS station in Los Angeles showed highlights of Orlando's 2009 Eastern Conference Championship team. Howard could have been talking about the fact his teams were never nationally appreciated for how good they were and were the team nobody wanted to win for delaying LeBron James' ascencion.

There are plenty of times for a team with the Magic's record to be OK with the results and pack it in after falling too far behind. Certainly after a six minute drought to end the first half and then a 17-point deficit early in the third quarter.

That is not part of a winning culture.

Certainly with a young team like the one the Magic have there will be games with a scoreline and performance that leave you wondering. However a night after putting in one of those performances at home against the Grizzlies, the team responded with a performance that engenders confidence in what the Magic are eventually trying to build.

Orlando needed someone to step up and carry the team forward, finding a way to work its way back from the brink of a blowout again.

So there was Jameer Nelson leading the way in the third quarter, getting the team all the way back. Then there was Al Harrington and Arron Afflalo leading the way down the stretch. A 17-5 run to end the game and a 30-point third and fourth quarter proved that the Magic are not going to roll over and die as this season winds down. There is still a lot of pride.

And the Magic have a lot to be proud of in wrapping up a 105-102 win over the Hornets at New Orleans Arena on Monday.

A night after getting blown out, the Magic had the answer and the will to score a victory.

Jameer Nelson scored 13 of his 15 points in the third quarter to help the Magic fight back from a 17-point deficit. Arron Afflalo scored 26 points in the game and closed it off with a go-ahead turnaround jumper with about 30 seconds left. And it was Al Harrington providing a big boost off the bench on both ends of the floor in a 10-point, 5-rebound effort.

The poise for the Magic in closing this game out was something that seemed to come out of nowhere. Orlando had gone through so many games this season and even recently where hte team was unable to execute with the chips down. It was just Friday that Arron Afflalo committed three fourth quarter turnovers as the Magic saw a lead slip away against the Rockets.

Tobias Harris was surprisingly efficient and effective in his first four games in a Magic uniform. The forward, under-utilized in Milwaukee, took to having playing time immediately and cashed in on the potential that made him the 19th pick int he 2011 Draft.

Entering Sunday's loss to Memphis, Harris was averaging 20.0 points per game and shooting 69.6 percent. That included back-to-back games with career highs in points.

The Grizzlies clearly took notice. Lionel Hollins said before the game that they knew of Harris and his talent even before his scoring spurt since coming to the Magic. Playing time does wonders for young players.

It also means tons of adjustments int he ups and downs of an 82-game schedule. Harris came back down to earth a little bit agianst the Grizzlies, struggling to get his shot to fall in a 6-point, 3-for-14 performance in the 108-82 loss to the Grizzlies. Harris was not shy about shooting and had all the confidence he had before, he was simply being defended much more aggressively and found himself facing a few double teams too.

"I thought they might have been keying in a little bit [on me]," Harris said. "As a player, that’s what you have to adapt to what the other team is doing. You have to find a way out there.

"[I learned] just to be a little more patient with the looks I have. I thought I had some pretty good looks, they just weren’t falling. You have nights like that. The key thing is coming out tomorrow and having short-term memory in this type of game."

Harris said what is important for him now is coming back with a better performance in the next game tonight against New Orleans. The response to a bad game is what separates good players from mediocre ones. And so the 21 year old has some learning to do tonight.

Jerryd Bayless came flying off a screen that left Beno Udrih in his dust at the end of the third quarter. Bayless, a sharpshooter who has bounced around a few teams before finally finding a home in Memphis, drained the 3-pointer to give the Grizzlies a 25-point lead at the end of the third quarter.

The made shot fell to Maurice Harkless as players began to head toward the bench. Harkless, in a moment of frustration slammed the ball hard against the floor. He said he only wanted to slam it so he could catch it and that it hit the floor much harder than he anticipated.

It was a symbol perhaps of the frustration the Magic had all night from getting beat down and destroyed on their home floor from the opening tip yet again.  At some point, it had to boil over -- even from a relatively quiet guy like Maurice Harkless.

"The season has been very frustrating," Harkless said. "I try not to show it. Sometimes it comes out. Unfortunately, I got a tech for it."

The frustration may grow when Harkless sees that money deducted from his paycheck. Still, in some ways, it was nice to see the Magic were not going to completely accept the losing and the blowout they were taking.

The fourth quarter -- and really the second half -- saw a Magic team that was playing better and playing even with the Grizzlies. The fourth quarter saw a new group of guys from the end of the bench playing with energy and the desire to be on the floor.

It is a 48-minute game however and the first 24 minutes were squarely in Memphis' favor. The Grizzlies loosened the defense by making shots early and then ate away the Magic from the interior, racing out to a nine-point lead by the middle of the first quarter and never really getting threatened again in a 108-82 win at Amway Center on Sunday.

Memphis shot 53 percent from the floor and hit 11 of 24 3-pointers, finding whatever the team needed to cure its offensive woes. Tayshaun Prince was the high scorer for the game with 14 points and Marc Gasol added 12 points and a career-high 11 assists.

The Grizzlies had 48 points in the paint, outscoring the Magic 42-26 in the paint through three quarters. They took a 32-point lead in the fourth quarter and made the rest of the game a formality. The Grizzlies and the Magic both had reserves in for the majority of the fourth quarter.

Twitter has completely changed our relationship with sports.

It is hard to watch a game without a Twitter stream of commentary scrolling throughout the game. There is such a large community having a shared experience now that it is really quite amazing. I participate in it every game night in talked to my followers about the Magic.

The Magic do too. They have wracked up the Twitter influence.

In a slow news day post, The Wall Street Journal took a look at the Twitter following for all the professional sports teams. And who is the second most followed team sport Twitter account in North America?

In the words of Paul Porter, "YOUR ORLANDO MAGIC."

Deadspin tries to explain:

The second-most-followed Twitter account in North American pro team sports belongs to the Orlando Magic? It's easy enough to fluff Twitter numbers, but the Magic also seem to have vibrant feed and a real interest in feeding fans good tweet. Theories welcome.

The Magic have 1,091,957 followers as of Sunday morning. Each of them absolutely deserved. The Magic and their affiliated accounts -- such as Stuff, Josh Cohen, Dan Savage and John Denton among many others -- are a great follow and a must for all Magic fans. Obviously.

Still somewhat surprising to see the Magic so high among the North American sports teams. You would think another team in, say, a larger market might have that title. Sorry, not spiteful at all.

Now how are we going to work on getting my 4,686 followers up to 5,000?

The Magic had another opportunity to win -- something that has seemed so fleeting in this struggle of a season with a bunch of young players filling roles that may be above their pay grade for the moment. Orlando led Houston 100-98 with five minutes to play. The team was rolling offensively all night and seemed finally to get some stops.

Houston though had the finishing kick and the young Orlando team did not have the wherewithal to close things out. Turnovers, shaky execution and poor shot selection ultimately doomed the Magic.

And after keeping pace with the Rockets the entire game and holding down one of the league's top offensive teams, the Rockets were finally unleashed in those final moments. They got out on the break and continued to hit their 3-pointers at an alarming rate for many defenses.

Houston went on a 14-2 run in the next three minutes to turn that 2-point deficit into a 10-point lead. The Rockets scored seven of their 17 fast break points during that run and got to the line four times, pushing the tempo and pushing the pace. Orlando could not make shots to keep pace and the struggles to run the pick and roll with Arron Afflalo and Nikola Vucevic only further fed the offensive juggernaut on the other side.

It was a game that ultimately came down to who could get a stop. At long last, Houston did and took a 118-108 win over Orlando at Amway Center on Friday night.

The Magic were outscored 32-23 in the final quarter despite making one more field goal than the Rockets and shooting an identical 50 percent from the floor. The nine fourth quarter turnovers were the difference and led to the team taking the hard loss.

"Finishing the game is a tough thing to do in this league," coach Jacque Vaughn said. "It boils down to execution and that’s on both ends of the floor. It’s amplified. A turnover that you have in the first quarter, just doesn’t feel the same in the fourth quarter. You have to learn that. You have to go through that. When the fourth comes around, those possessions matter even more."

Orlando put together one of its best offensive performances of the year in a game the team would absolutely need it against the free-wheeling shot-happy Houston team. Orlando hit on 56.4 percent of their shots and 9 of its 22 3-pointers. The team had 61 points at halftime.

The 110 points were the fourth most the team has scored all year and the 56.4 percent shooting was the highest all season.

Former Magic forward Jeff Turner coached the Lake Highland Prep. basketball team to its first state championship with a 67-50 win over Boca Raton St. Andrew's on Thursday at the Lakeland Center. The Highlanders used a suffocating 1-3-1 press defense to force more than 20 turnovers and secure the victory.

They did so without a strong game from their best player, North Carolina commit Joel Berry. Berry still finished with 21 points.

The Highlanders have been knocking on the door for a state championship for a few years nowo, coming up just short last year int he state championship game against Pine Crest (the Panthers were playing their first year without Pistons guard Brandon Knight).

Turner has been a presence with the Magic and in the Orlando community ever since he became the team's first free agent acquisition during the expansion 1989-90 season. Turner played seven seasons for the Magic and helped spread the floor as one of the few stretch-4s in the league at the time.

Turner returned to Orlando shortly after his playing days and he immediately latched on as the radio voice of the Magic. He continued working in the community and has been involved with Lake Highland's basketball program since at least 2002. He has been involved with Lake Highland as a director of leadership programs at the school, working with students and student athletes in becoming better leaders on campus and building team and group chemistry in sports and in studies..

Turner took over as head coach of the basketball team a few years ago. He left the radio broadcast but stayed with the Magic as an on-air personality for the Magic's pregame and postgame shows on Fox Sports Florida.

It is getting to be that time of the year for the teams at the bottom of the standings. The NCAA Tournament is set to start in three weeks and the basketball world will be turning toward one of the more intriguing and wide open college basketball races in recent memory.

When you look at it through the draft's eyes, the draft is wide open too.

There is no runaway player for the top overall pick. Whoever wins the lottery is going to have some interesting options with that first pick.

With the season winding down, Orlando will be making its draft preparations. Currently, the Magic have the second best odds at winning the lottery. More than any other year however, the difference between drafting first and fifth might be minimal.

Chad Ford of ESPN unveiled the Draft Lottery Machine on Thursday for your fun and enjoyment. It is his foray into the world of mock drafts (an exercise that is probably a bit too early to do).

Still, it is good to know who Magic fans should be watching as the tournament approaches. I will be doing that through Magic Wands in the coming days.

Ford though puts his thought into who the Magic should draft. And he believes the Magic should draft Oklahoma State guard Marcus Smart if they get the number one pick in June:

The Magic could also use help everywhere on the floor, but with young players in place at center (Nikola Vucevic), power forward (Andrew Nicholson) and small forward (Moe Harkless and Tobias Harris) look for the team to try to juice up the backcourt.

While McLemore might be an option to replace Arron Afflalo, the money is on Smart. The Magic need a leader and a potential star, and while Smart's numbers won't always wow you, his leadership on the court and his power taking the ball to the basket could make him an All-Star someday.

The Magic are probably not going to be drafting on need in this year's Draft. They do not have that luxury. Orlando should be looking at taking the best player available. The college scouting is ongoing and the Magic still have a lot of time before they have to make a decision of any kind.

The NCAA Tournament is part of that process. So too will be individual workouts and interviews as the draft gets closer.

The other candidates to be the top pick in this draft include Kansas forward Ben McLemore, Kentucky center Nerlens Noel and UNLV Anthony Bennett. Indiana's Victor Oladipo and Cody Zeller also are considered possibilities at the top of the draft.

Again, there is still a long way to go before any decision has to be made.

James Michael McAdoo (UNC): 11 points, 4 rebounds, 5/13 FGs

Clemson, S.C.

(19-8, 9-5 ACC) vs. (13-13, 5-9 ACC)   
Time/TV: 7 p.m./ESPN
Line: Tar Heels by 4
Tickets: No Tickets on Vivid Seats
Players to Watch: James McAdoo, UNC (14.7 PPG, 8.3 RPG); Reggie Bullock, UNC (14.1 PPG, 6.0 RPG)

Video Vault:

1) Tobias Harris is justifying Rob Hennigan's belief in him and the J.J. Redick trade. . . through three games, Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel writes.

2) James Michael McAdoo has been playing some center for North Carolina as Roy Williams used a small lineup, Matt Haley of Keeping It Heel says that UNC needs Brice Johnson to fill some minutes and keep McAdoo from wearing down.

3) There were few highlights in the Magic's 125-101 loss to the Kings last night. Sacramento simply made its shots.

4) Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel writes the future of the Magic are on the floor right now and the rebuilding is just beginning.

5) An interesting debate came out on Tuck and O'Neill on 1080 The Team Sports Talk Florida on Wednesday. the two debated whether skipping out on Magic games late in the season as the losses pile up keeps you a Magic fan or not. Debate.

6) Jameer Nelson sat out his fourth consecutive game with a left knee contusion on Wednesday, but his status has been upgraded to doubtful for Friday's game, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reports.