Cavaliers at Magic
THE STORY: With eight road wins, the Cleveland Cavaliers have already
surpassed their total from last season (seven) and they’ve taken down
some impressive opponents along the way. Cleveland has scored victories
at Boston, Denver and Oklahoma City and pushed Atlanta to overtime
Wednesday before losing by one point. The Orlando Magic has lost two of
three and has the look of a bored team waiting for the postseason as
turnovers and repeated defensive mistakes continue to hurt them.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS Ohio (Cavaliers), FS Florida (Panthers)
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (17-27): Kyrie Irving is no longer a teenager. He turned 20 on Thursday’s off day and continues his march toward the Rookie of the Year award. Irving is averaging 19.0 points, tops among rookies, and his 5.7 assists rank second. Irving has three game-winning shots this season, but missed a jumper at the buzzer Wednesday at Atlanta that would’ve been his fourth. Irving is 3 for 5 this season on game-winning shots.
ABOUT THE MAGIC (30-18): Glen “Big Baby” Davis’ tumultuous first season is trending upward again. Davis had 16 points and seven rebounds in Wednesday’s victory over the Suns in a performance coach Stan Van Gundy called “one of his best of the year.” Davis has underachieved in his first season, has been booed mercilessly by the home fans and has generally been a disappointment after signing a four-year, $26 million deal over the winter. Now refocused, Davis insists better days are ahead.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Cleveland’s Alonzo Gee scored a career-high 20 points - a mark he has since tied - in the Magic’s 102-94 victory over the Cavaliers on Feb. 3.
2. The Magic has won seven straight in this series.
3. Dwight Howard has 39 double-doubles this season, including eight games of at least 20 points and 20 rebounds.