Cavaliers at Magic
The Cleveland Cavaliers rested LeBron James on Wednesday and got stellar performances from Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving in a tight win over the Dallas Mavericks. The well-rested James is expected to be back on Friday, when the Eastern Conference-leading Cavaliers begin their Florida back-to-back by visiting the Orlando Magic.
Cleveland is trying to balance keeping its key players healthy down the stretch while holding off the Toronto Raptors for the No. 1 seed in the East and plans on giving all the starters time off over the next stretch of games. “Coach (Tyronn) Lue mentioned it to myself and Kyrie and we know that we have to pick up the slack when LeBron is out,” Love told reporters after the 99-98 win over the Mavericks. “He brings so much to this team. Kyrie came out attacking and I think we came out playing physical.” The Magic are falling out of the race for the final playoff spot in the East with losses in five of the last seven games and are frustrating coach Scott Skiles. “We’ve had some good games, but our problem the last three weeks or so has been that we’ll have a pretty good game and win it and the next game we’ll go (backward) and have a poor performance,” Skiles told reporters. “We haven’t been able to get any consistency going.”
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Ohio (Cleveland), FSN Florida (Orlando)
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (48-19): Lue could take the opportunity to rest some players for one or both ends of the back-to-back with Orlando on Friday and Miami on Saturday, but James is expected to play both games. The superstar’s absence allowed Irving (33 points) and Love (23 points, 18 rebounds) to shine, and Irving believes learning to play without James can only help the team in the future. “There’s a few games going forward where a few guys will probably have to sit out to rest going forward and we just have to make adjustments,” Irving told reporters. “We never know what can happen in the playoffs. Obviously we want everyone to stay healthy but we’re just preparing for the long run. That’s it.”
ABOUT THE MAGIC (29-38): The only consistent thing about Orlando over the last few months has been the tone of Skiles’ critiques of his team. “When the real pro light bulb goes on you are kind of the same every night,” Skiles told reporters of his team’s issues with consistent effort. “You’re not going to make your shots every night, but you play the same. But we’re really, really good one night and low energy the next. … If you’re going to drop the second night of every back-to-back, you’re not going to be a very good team.” The Magic have not won consecutive games since prior to the All-Star break and hit the road after Friday’s contest for a four-game trip against teams fighting for postseason position in the East.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Magic F Aaron Gordon went scoreless on Wednesday after averaging 17.7 points on 23-of-35 shooting in the previous three games.
2. Cavaliers G J.R. Smith is 2-of-16 from 3-point range in the last two games.
3. Cleveland has taken each of the first three meetings this season, including a 111-76 demolition in Orlando on Dec. 11, and 13 in a row in the series.