Cavaliers 104, Magic 79
CLEVELAND -- LeBron James scored 29 points and Kevin Love had 10 points and 13 rebounds in the Cleveland Cavaliers' 104-79 victory over the Orlando Magic on Saturday night for their 13th consecutive win in the series.
Center Tristan Thompson had 10 points and 12 rebounds and guard Kyrie Irving scored 13 points for the Cavs, who have won their last three games. The Magic have dropped consecutive games by double figures for the first time this season.
The Cavs have dealt the Magic their three worst losses this season, the last two by an average of 30 points. The Cavs have also given the Magic their worst home and road losses of the season.
The Cavs led the Magic by 40 points three weeks ago at Amway Center and led Saturday by 31 in both the third and fourth quarters.
Forward Aaron Gordon scored 11 points and guards Mario Hezonja and Shabazz Napier each had 10 points for the Magic, all off the bench.
James has struggled with his jump shot most of the season, but he said before the game he thought he found something on film he could correct. He responded by making 11 of 18 from the field, including 4 of 7 3-pointers.
The Cavs built a 55-32 lead at halftime, a season low in points for the Magic in a half, and Cleveland was never really threatened, allowing the starters to rest the entire fourth quarter.
Irving, still working his way back from offseason knee surgery, was just 4 of 12 from the field and missed all four of his 3-point attempts. He went diving headfirst into an empty row of seats chasing a loose ball but came away unscathed.
James (6,478) passed Tiny Archibald (6,476) for 21st place on the league's career assists list, and J.R. Smith's 3-pointer gave him 1,529 for his career, moving him past Nick Van Exel for 22nd place. Smith has made at least one 3-pointer in 21 of his last 23 games.
NOTES: Cleveland coach David Blatt has struggled settling on a rotation with a fully healthy roster. "Guys gotta understand -- and I've told them this -- only so many guys can play," he said. "That's just the reality of the limitations of the game. Some guys may find themselves, for no other reason other than that, not playing many minutes or not playing at all -- not because they're not good enough or they're not doing their job. It's the reality of how many guys you can play and what the situation is on the floor." ... The Magic began the night with 12 games decided by five points or less (5-7 record) and a league-leading nine games decided by three points or less (4-5).