The Miami Heat have a short trip for NBA Cup quarterfinals

It's never really been a rivalry, even though the franchises entered the NBA just one year apart, 1988 and 1989. The Miami Heat's comparative success has made the Orlando Magic their little brothers of sorts. The Heat have reached seven NBA Finals and won three championships, while the Magic have reached two NBA Finals and never won.

But the Magic have improved of late, and that was evident not just in their opening night victory against the Heat, one that came down to crunch time and some big Wendell Carter Jr. rebounds, but also in Orlando's impressive road win against the Detroit Pistons on Friday night. That win gave the Miami Heat a spot in the knockout round of the NBA Cup, and the Knicks' win against the Bucks ensured that that round would start in Orlando, with the Heat again facing the Magic.

Heat advance to NBA Cup knockout round, to play at Magic as East wildcard. https://t.co/qu5WuHW7rt Single-elimination NBA Cup game vs. Magic will be Dec. 8 or Dec. 9 in Orlando.
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) November 29, 2025

That extra game will occur on either Dec. 8 or 9 in Orlando; the teams actually face each other before that, also in Orlando, on Dec. 5. But that's just a regular old regular season tilt. The one after will be for a trip to Las Vegas and the semifinals there.

This also means the Heat will likely play just 40, not 41, home games, but they aren't liable to mind. Erik Spoelstra has always spoken highly of the in-season tournament, even as others haven't really understood or appreciated it. He will take the extra high-pressure games for his young squad, as it learns how to win in those situations. All but two of the Heat's primary rotation players are under 30 years old, and most are 25 or younger. Orlando has a similarly young group.

By the time the Heat play either of those games against the Magic, it's likely that Paolo Banchero will be back for the home team. He missed his eighth straight game Friday, but Desmond Bane picked up the offense, as Franz Wagner often has in Banchero's absence. The Magic have righted themselves after a rough start, adjusting to a faster style of play, one the Heat have seemed to master.

Miami plays Detroit on Saturday night in Miami, trying to replicate what the Magic just did, and move within a single game of the top seed in the Eastern Conference.