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By John Denton
Jan. 2, 2016
CLEVELAND – With Orlando playing for a second time in as many nights and the Cleveland Cavaliers well rested from four days off one could make the assumption that Saturday was an all-too-familiar “schedule loss” for the Magic.
But that would be discounting and discrediting Cleveland’s extended history of success against Orlando and the manner with which LeBron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving have dismantled the Magic.
For a third straight time this season and for a 13th consecutive time over most of the past four seasons, Orlando had no answer for Cleveland’s all-star firepower and put up little resistance in a humbling 104-79 defeat at Quicken Loans Arena.
In the NBA, there are always teams that have other team’s numbers, but the Magic (19-15) have run smack-dab into the two franchises that have given them the most fits in recent years. A night after seeing its futility against Washington extend to 11 games, Orlando dropped its 13th consecutive game to the East-leading Cavaliers (22-9).
The Magic haven’t beaten Cleveland since Nov. 23, 2012. The two defeats earlier this season to the Cavs were by 14 and 35 points, and Saturday’s game got out of hand early on. Orlando trailed 13-2 in less than five minutes, by 20 in the first 10 minutes, by as much as 29 points in the first half and as much as 31 after intermission.
“There are more (losing) streaks than that for the Magic,” head coach Scott Skiles said before the game when asked about the drought against Cleveland. “Washington is 11 in a row now. We’re coming off a game where a team had beaten us 10 in a row and we didn’t come out with the type of effort and focus that we needed. The guys are aware of that. Depending on the type of people you have, that can either (make you mad) and you can come out with a lot of fire, it can scare you to death or somewhere in the middle.”
Orlando’s next chance to bounce back from a couple of disappointing losses will be on Monday night in suburban Detroit against the vastly improved Pistons. It will be the first meeting between two teams that could very well be fighting all season for a playoff spot.
LeBron James scored 29 points and was a plus-27 in his 29 minutes on the floor, making him plus-92 in three games against the Magic this season. He was a plus-29 in Cleveland’s 117-103 win on Nov. 23 and a plus-36 when the Cavs thumped the Magic 111-76 on Dec. 11.
No Orlando player broke double digits in scoring until guard Mario Hezonja drilled a 3-pointer with 2:37 left in the game. The rookie was one of Orlando’s only bright spots, finishing with 10 points, six rebounds and three assists.
Nikola Vucevic, Orlando’s leading scorer and rebounder this season, didn’t score his first points of the night until the second half was four minutes old. He came into the night averaging 17.2 points and 8.7 rebounds, but he produced just four points and three rebounds in 12 minutes on Saturday.
Orlando’s starting five – which struggled badly in Friday’s loss in Washington – combined to score just 20 points and made only seven of 24 shots. No starter reached double figures in scoring as Evan Fournier had the most points for a starter with nine.
Aaron Gordon scored a game-high 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds off the bench. Shabazz Napier (10 points), Dewayne Dedmon (eight points) and Jason Smith (eight points) played well in garbage time.
Struggling point guard Elfrid Payton missed all five of his shots, but did chip in four assists. Tobias Harris scored just four points on two of five shooting. Victor Oladipo, who had a promising 20 points on Friday in Washington, missed eight of his 11 shots and scored just six points.
Cleveland made 11 3-pointers and got 13 points from Irving and 10 from Love. Tristan Thompson, long a Magic killer, had 10 points and 12 boards.
Down 23 at the half, Orlando actually sent a minor scare into Cleveland in the third quarter by getting within 17. However, that just ignited James, who scored eight straight points during one stretch and helping Cleveland push its lead back up to 30 points. At the end of the fourth, Orlando found itself staring at a depressing 81-53 deficit.
The Magic picked a bad time to start off the game flat and they were nearly run off the floor in a 55-32 first half for the well-rested Cavs. Orlando found itself in a 13-2 hole in the first 5 minutes of the game and things didn’t get much better.
For whatever, the Magic were a wreck offensively in the early going. They missed five of their first six shots and six of eight to fall behind early on.
According to Skiles, Orlando’s starters played with low energy in Friday’s loss in Washington and they weren’t much better on Saturday. They were two of eight in the first quarter and two of 13 in the first half. A big part of that was Vucevic getting into early foul trouble and missing all three of his shot attempts.
Three of Orlando’s five starters – Channing Frye, Vucevic and Payton – failed to score in the first half. Of the 13 first-half field goals, 11 came from the reserves. Aaron Gordon scored seven straight points during one stretch and he led Orlando in scoring in the first 24 minutes.
James has picked the Magic apart with his passing and his scoring this season, and in the first half he did it with his aggressive attacking the rim. He had 20 points by halftime by making eight of 11 shots, two 3-pointers and both of his free throws. The four-time MVP also grabbed five rebounds, handed out two assists and swiped two steals for a plus-23 on the scoreboard in his 17 minutes on the floor in the opening half.
