Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Orlando Magic. All opinions expressed by John Denton are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Orlando Magic or their Basketball Operations staff, partners or sponsors.
By John Denton
Dec. 11, 2015
ORLANDO – Some of the hallmarks of the Orlando Magic early this season has been the team’s consistency with their effort, execution and defense – things that have allowed them to stay in almost every game and repeatedly have shots to win late in fourth quarters.
The exception to that rule, however, has been the Cleveland Cavaliers, who continue to have their way with a Magic team that clearly has no answers to stopping LeBron James.
For a second straight time, James had his way with the Magic – both with his scoring (25 points) and his passing (eight assists for 19 more points) – and a sluggish Orlando squad had little to offer in response in an unsightly 111-76 loss to the Cavs.
Cleveland has now given the Magic their two worst defeats of the season – by 14 points on Nov. 23 and by 36 points on Friday night. Orlando has dropped its last 12 games against Cleveland and has fallen 13 times in a row against James while playing for Miami and Cleveland.
Orlando (12-11) came into Friday having had 10 games decided by five points or fewer, but this showdown against Cleveland (15-7) never materialized following a 14-1 knockout punch late in the second quarter. The Magic proved to be just as flat at the start of the second half, giving up another 20-4 run that turned the game into a laugher.
When the Magic lost 117-103 in Cleveland three weeks ago, head coach Scott Skiles responded by changing the team’s lineup – a daring move that resulted in five straight victories.
Orlando can only hope for a similar result this time around, but for that to happen it will have to show much more grit and toughness than in Friday’s humbling defeat.
Orlando missed shot after shot from the 3-point line (six of 22) and from point-blank range (just nine of 20 in the paint in the first half). Meanwhile, Cleveland shot 56.9 percent against a Magic defense that ranked fourth in the NBA in field goal percentage allowed. James made 10 of 15 shots, while Timofey Mozgov (eight of nine for 17 points) and Matthew Dellavedova (five of seven for 12 points) also gashed Orlando. Cleveland got little from Kevin Love (six points), but Iman Shumpert (six points) was effective in his first game back from wrist surgery and James Jones (15 points and four 3-pointers).
Just back from a five-game, 10-day road trip – one where they went an impressive 3-2 with wins against Minnesota, Utah and Denver – Orlando had little life at all on either end of the floor. Cleveland rested its starters in the fourth quarter and still managed to extend its lead to as much as 40 points late in a forgettable night.
The Magic got little-to-nothing at all from starters Tobias Harris (zero of five shooting, zero points), Channing Frye (zero of three shooting, zero points) and Evan Fournier (one of two shooting, five points). Victor Oladipo (two of eight shooting, four points) was also ineffective off the bench.
Nikola Vucevic scored 14 points, while rookie Mario Hezonja – a victim of James’ buising post-ups late in the first half – scored 12 points before fouling out after 20 minutes.
The Magic’s charter didn’t land back in Orlando until 5 a.m. early Thursday morning, something that could have explained the scarcity of energy at the start of Friday’s game. However, Skiles discounted that before the game, saying he would never allow his team to fall back on excuses such as that.
The Magic will be back on the practice court on Saturday and they will be back on the road Monday night in Brooklyn. After that, Orlando closes out 2015 with seven of the next eight games at the Amway Center.
As was the case in Cleveland three weeks ago, Orlando got off to a slow start, made a run at the Cavs and then got blown off the floor when James flexed his muscles. A 14-1 spurt late in the half – one in which James scored 12 of the points – gave Cleveland a 53-37 edge on the Magic at intermission.
Searching for shooting and life of any kind, Skiles inserted rookie forward Mario Hezonja late in the first half. After that, the rookie got an NBA indoctrination from LeBron James that he won’t soon forget.
James immediately took the rookie into the post and ripped off seven quick points on a variety of low-post moves. In the first half alone, James made eight of nine shots, drilled all four of his free throws. In addition to scoring 20 points, his four assists led to 10 more points for the Cavs.
Orlando’s formula for success all season has been getting contributions from all over the roster to keep opponents guessing. But the Magic couldn’t find any reliable offense in the first half, limping to a 15 of 38 (39.5 percent) shooting start. In something of an ongoing problem of late, the Magic missed their first six 3-point tries and they didn’t make their second three of the first half until Vucevic buried a buzzer-beating shot.
