The Miami Heat seized early control Tuesday night with a 15-0 lead over the Orlando Magic in their quarterfinal matchup to tip off the NBA Cup.
But as it tends to be the case with double-digit leads in the NBA, it was not safe. Sparked by Desmond Bane, the Magic rallied to take their first lead of the game at 47-46 before halftime. By the fourth quarter, they were in full control of a 117-108 victory. Bane finished with 37 points on a night when the Magic played without star forward Franz Wagner.
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With the win, the Magic advance to the semifinal round of the NBA Cup against the winner of Tuesday’s late game between the New York Knicks and Toronto Raptors. And each player on the roster earned a nice bonus payday.
By advancing to the semifinals, each full-time player on the Magic roster earned a $106,187 paycheck via a pay scale that escalates with each subsequent round of the NBA cup. The championship-winning players will earn a $530,933 payday, a substantial raise for anyone playing on the rookie minimum $1.366 million salary.
This story will be updated.