Magic at Cavaliers
Injuries to the supporting cast are not slowing down LeBron James, Kevin Love and the Cleveland Cavaliers, who improved to 7-0 at home with a win over the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday. The Cavaliers will try to make it an 8-0 start when they host the Orlando Magic on Monday.
Point guard Mo Williams (ankle), who is himself starting in place of Kyrie Irving (knee), missed the last two games while Timofey Mozgov is out for at least another week with a shoulder strain. Matthew Dellavedova handed out a career-high 13 assists while starting in place of Williams on Thursday and added 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting on Saturday as Cleveland won the Eastern Conference finals rematch. The Magic have plenty of talent in the backcourt and will challenge Dellavedova and/or Williams with second-year stud Elfrid Payton, though he is coming off a down performance. Payton was limited to seven points on 3-of-12 shooting while getting outplayed by Rajon Rondo in a 97-91 home loss to the Sacramento Kings on Saturday.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Florida (Orlando), FSN Ohio (Cleveland)
ABOUT THE MAGIC (6-7): The past two games have seen center Nikola Vucevic on the bench at crunch time, with coach Scott Skiles choosing smaller lineups and more energy in the second half. Vucevic is shaking off any frustration over those decisions by focusing on the team and recorded 11 points and 11 rebounds on Saturday despite sitting out the last 12 minutes. “It’s disappointing because we play well one game and then another game we don’t,’’ Vucevic told reporters. “…We’ve got to stay together because it’s early in the season. It’s not the end of the world, but we have to figure this thing out pretty soon if we want to get to where we want to be.”
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (10-3): Tristan Thompson moved into the starting lineup in place of Mozgov on Saturday and delivered nine points and 16 rebounds in 40 minutes while blocking two shots. The 24-year-old is averaging 9.8 rebounds while working mostly in a reserve role behind Mozgov and Love, and he continues to prove himself worthy of the $82-million investment the team made in him before the start of the regular season. Thompson also handed out a career-high five assists in Saturday’s win.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Love is averaging 22.5 points on 50.8 percent shooting over the last four games.
2. Orlando G Victor Oladipo is 4-of-17 from the floor in two games since returning from a concussion.
3. Cleveland took all three meetings last season by an average of 18.7 points.