Magic Defeat Cavs to Win Second Straight
The Orlando Magic (14-9) continued their momentum from their victory over Washington Friday night by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers (8-13) 102-94. It’s the second straight win for the Magic following a four game losing streak.
After a close first quarter in which the Magic ended up 18-17, the Magic opened up a solid lead in the second. With 5:56 left in the second, starters Jason Richardson, Hedo Turkoglu, and Dwight Howard came off the bench with a 30-26 lead. The Magic then went on a 14-4 run to take a commanding 44-30 lead. It started with Ryan Anderson hitting a three. Then Jason Richardson hit a three of his own and completed a three-point play. Turkoglu ended the run with a three that gave the Magic a 14 point lead.
The Magic took an 11 point lead into the third quarter and then extended it by outscoring the Cavs 24-16 and taking a 19 point lead into the fourth quarter. The Cavs fought hard in the fourth though and outscored the Magic 41-30. However, it wasn’t enough as newly acquired Ish Smith and Jason Richardson made plays to hold off the Cavs for the win.
Midway through the fourth, the Cavs took hack-a-Howard to a new level where they would foul Dwight Howard before the Magic even inbounded the ball. Howard didn’t attempt any free throws through the first three and a half quarters but attempted 16 free throws in the final six minutes.
Five players for the Magic scored in double figures led by Jason Richardson and Dwight Howard with 19, Hedo Turkoglu with 18, and Ryan Anderson with 17. Von Wafer had a nice game off the bench scoring 11 points backing up Chris Duhon. Howard added to his 19 points with 16 rebounds and eight blocks coming close to the second triple-double of his career.
The newly acquired Ish Smith who was signed Thursday by the Magic gave his new team an energy boost as he played nine minutes with two points, four assists, and no turnovers. Turnovers were actually a strong spot for the Magic Friday night as they only turned the ball over five times.
The Magic will face Indiana Saturday night but with a bit of a wrinkle in the schedule. Due to Super Bowl XLVI Sunday, the league has told the Magic that they will not be permitted to fly from Orlando to Indianapolis on Saturday. Instead, they will fly to Cincinnati and take a two hour bus ride to Indianapolis for the game. The reasoning for the disruption is that an airplane’s mechanical problem or bad weather could prevent the Magic from reaching Indiana on time and cause the game to be postponed. The true reason though is because of bad planning on the part of the NBA in putting a game in Indianapolis the day before the Super Bowl which is causing the Magic to go through Cincinnati.
Up Next: Next the Magic will fly to Indianapolis to take on the Indiana Pacers (15-6). It will be the third game between the two teams in the past two weeks. The Magic defeated the Pacers in Indianapolis nine days ago and then lost to the Pacers five days later. The Magic will fly into Cincinnati and drive two hours to Indianapolis for the game because of Super Bowl XLVI.
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