Steve Francis scored 22 points, and the Orlando Magic rode an early double-figures lead to a 109-103 victory Wednesday night in Orlando, Fla., over the Miami Heat in the preseason finale for both.
Cuttino Mobley, Francis' backcourt partner, had 17 points, and forwards Dwight Howard and Grant Hill 14 each. Howard added 13 rebounds for his third double-double of the preseason.
Miami's Shaquille O'Neal, returning to the arena that was home court for his first four seasons in the NBA, had 24 points and eight rebounds. Dwyane Wade scored 18 points despite shooting 5-for-19 — including 10 straight misses to open the game.
The Heat never recovered from the quick start by the Magic. Orlando extended its advantage to 21 points late in the third quarter on Howard's three-point play and Jameer Nelson's fast-break layup.
Miami closed the gap to 90-84, but Hedo Turkoglu's 3-pointer with nine minutes to go kept the Heat at bay.
Off the Magic's bench, Turkoglu scored 18 points, shooting 7-for-9, while Tony Battie had 10 points and nine rebounds.
CELTICS 96, PISTONS 84: At Boston, Jiri Welsch started at point guard in place of injured Gary Payton and scored 16 points in the Celtics' final preseason game. Tom Gugliotta added 12 points for the Celtics, 2-6 after snapping a six-game preseason losing streak. Ben Wallace and Tayshaun Prince had 15 points apiece for NBA champion Detroit (3-4).
SPURS 79, ROCKETS 69: At Laredo, Texas, Tim Duncan had 15 points and nine rebounds to lead San Antonio. Tony Parker had 11 points and six assists, and Rasho Nesterovic added 10 points for the Spurs (3-3). Tracy McGrady led the Rockets (3-3) with 15 points.
BUCKS 76, TIMBERWOLVES 75: At Minneapolis, former Jazz player Maurice Williams hit a jumper with one second left to cap an 11-point performance and lead Milwaukee. Both teams played without most of their regulars.
PACERS 91, BULLS 71: At Indianapolis, Stephen Jackson had 18 points for the banged-up Indiana Pacers, who scored the first 11 in a preseason victory. Eddy Curry had 22 points and eight rebounds to lead the Bulls, who trailed throughout and played the fourth quarter without forward Tyson Chandler after a nasty fall. Indiana forwards Jermaine O'Neal (sprained left foot), Ron Artest (sore right knee) and Jonathan Bender (sore left knee), point guard Anthony Johnson (broken right hand) and centers Jeff Foster (right hip surgery) and David Harrison (sprained left shoulder) did not play.
BOBCATS 93, HAWKS 89: At Fayetteville, N.C., rookie Emeka Okafor scored 15 points and Primoz Brezec added 14 to lead Charlotte. Okafor, the No. 2 pick in the draft, hit 6-of-8 shots in leading the Bobcats to their second straight win. Atlanta has lost six consecutive games.