Cavaliers at Magic
The Cleveland Cavaliers are showing improvement of late, especially on the defensive end, and now they must prove they can win on the road. The Cavaliers posted victories in four of their last five and look to boost their 1-10 road record when they visit the Orlando Magic on Friday. Kyrie Irving, coming off a virtuoso 37-point, 11-assist, one-turnover performance in a win over New York, leads Cleveland against an Orlando squad that snapped a six-game slide at Charlotte on Wednesday.
Cleveland’s only defeat in the last five games was at Atlanta when Irving went 0-for-9 from the field and it has yielded an average of 89.3 points in their last four victories. The Cavaliers are 29th in scoring (90.1) and 28th in field-goal percentage (41.3) away from home. Orlando is 5-5 at home and got a big boost from the return of 7-0 center Nikola Vucevic from an ankle injury in the last game.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Ohio (Cleveland), FSN Florida (Orlando)
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (8-13): The Cavaliers, who began 4-12, earned victories in December over the Los Angeles Clippers and Denver -- two teams off to strong starts. Irving leads the way, but inside players Tristan Thompson, Anderson Varejao and Andrew Bynum have been important. “Those three guys, they play so doggone hard,” Cavaliers coach Mike Brown told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “… They just make us different because they’re true bigs, but they can really guard and guard different positions.”
ABOUT THE MAGIC (7-15): Vucevic made a big difference inside as Orlando won the rebounding battle in the 92-83 victory over Charlotte after being pounded on the boards in the four games he missed. Veteran guard Jameer Nelson has shared the team lead in scoring the last two contests, including 12 big points in the fourth quarter at Charlotte. Arron Afflalo is shooting 51.1 percent from 3-point range at home and has enjoyed a consistent All Star-worthy season, averaging 21.6 points and four assists overall.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Irving is the first Cleveland player to record at least 37 points, 11 assists and one or fewer turnovers since World B. Free in 1986 (43, 11 and 0).
2. Orlando G Victor Oladipo, picked second in the 2013 draft, averages 13.4 points and first overall selection F Anthony Bennett of Cleveland is scoring 2.1 per game.
3. Vucevic recorded double-doubles in four of his last six contests and the Magic are 0-4 without him.