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It's an exciting Thursday night matchup in Florida as the Miami Heat (14-13) take on the Orlando Magic (19-12) at the Kia Center in Orlando. The Heat, with a road record of 4-8 and a point differential of 3, will look to secure bragging rights against the Magic, who boast an impressive 8-2 record in their last ten home games. Get ready for a thrilling showdown between these two competitive teams.

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

Date: Thursday, December 26, 2024

Time: 7 pm EST

Site: Kia Center

City: Orlando, FL

Never miss a second of the action and stay up to date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day

NBA schedule page

, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game.

Game odds for Heat vs. Magic

The latest odds as of Thursday:

Odds: Heat (+102), Magic (-122)

Spread: Magic -1.5

Over/Under: 208.5 points

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.”

Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.

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:

Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Moneyline.

Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Orlando Magic at -1.5.

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

The Heat have lost 4 straight road games

The Magic's last 3 games versus the Heat have gone OVER the Total

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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- Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)
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Vaughn Dalzell

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Brad Thomas

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