Cavaliers once again dominate the Magic 104-79
BY STONE LEXINGTON
CAVALIERS BEAT WRITER
The Cleveland Cavaliers have dominated the Orlando Magic of late like no other team. The Cavs and Magic met at Saturday night in Quicken Loans Arena, the third of four regular season meetings between the two teams. Cleveland entered the night having won 12 straight games over Orlando, including the first two matchups this season by an average of 25 points. Saturday’s contest was no different.
The Cavs hammered the Magic 104-79 , earning their ninth win in their last 11 games. With the win against Orlando, Cleveland pushed its home record to 14-1 this season and 34-2 in the regular season at home since Jan. 19 of last season.
“We caught Orlando, I believe twice after either tough games or West coast trips, or in this case a back-to-back,” Cavs head coach David Blatt said. “And that has an effect too. That to me is maybe more of a reason than any other.
“You can say we match up well against them.”
Cleveland held a 23-point lead at halftime and the lead only grew in the second half. When LeBron James sank his second three-pointer in three Cavs’ possessions with 1:49 to play in the third quarter, Cleveland took a 79-49 lead. None of the Cavs starters played in the fourth quarter as the contest was out of hand early.
“Overall, a pretty positive game,” Blatt said. “A pretty good effort by our guys, and a good chance also to give some rest a little bit to some of the guys too.”
James was his usual magnificent self, finishing with 29 points, five rebounds and three assists in 29 minutes. The Cavs small forward also set another milestone Saturday night. With his second assist, James passed Tiny Archibald (6,476) for 21st place on the all-time assists list in NBA history. Kyrie Irving chipped-in 13 points and five assists.
While Cleveland’s offense was clicking Saturday, the Cavs defense was just as effective. Cleveland entered the night allowing the third-lowest scoring average in the league at 95.1 points per game. Including Saturday’s contest, Cleveland has held teams to under 90 points in seven of their last 10 games.
As was the case in previous contests, Cleveland jumped on Orlando early. When Cavs shooting guard Iman Shumpert drained a three-pointer with 1:23 to play in the first quarter, Cleveland had a 29-9 lead and led 29-13 when the first quarter ended.
The Cavs only stretched their lead in the second quarter. When LeBron James sank a three-pointer followed by two free throws from Kevin Love on the Cavs’ next possession, Cleveland secured their largest lead of the first half at 46-17. The Cavs led 55-32 when the first half ended, while Orlando never led in the game.
“You have to come ready,” Blatt said. “And you have to understand that each and every one of these games is important, and whether you’ve seen the opponent several times or not or whether you’ve beaten them a few times or not, you got to take each game as it is and not allow yourself to become complacent in any way.”
Cleveland’s dominance over Orlando has produced staggering numbers. In Cleveland’s 12 straight wins over Orlando prior to Saturday night, the Cavs outscored the Magic by an average of 15.9 points. The last time Cleveland and Orlando met, which was a 111-76 victory for Cleveland on Dec. 11 at the Amway Center, the Cavs shot a season-high 57 percent from the field. The 35-point win was Cleveland’s biggest of the season and their largest margin of victory over the Magic in team history.
The Cavs 13-game winning streak over Orlando is Cleveland’s longest current winning streak over any NBA team since winning 12 in a row over the Philadelphia 76ers from 1994 to 1998.
POSTED 01/02/2016 22:59
Lake County Sentinel
