Cavaliers slump to 103-87 loss against Orlando Magic (Part 1)
In the NBA, fortunes change very quickly.
On Sunday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers - the same team that was battling the Orlando Magic for the Eastern Conference crown 19 months ago - was thrashed 103-87 by them, en-route to their 23rd consecutive away loss.
Coming into the match, Cleveland Cavaliers Coach Byron Scott was less perturbed about the historical significance of his team's current losing streak, and more concerned about finding a way to end the wretched stretch.
On the other hand, the only concern the Orlando Magic had, was to avoid the tag of becoming the team that allowed the Cavaliers to end their losing slump.
The song however, remained the same for the embattled Cavaliers and it’s a tune that is becoming hard to bear for Cleveland fans. In front of a capacity crowd at the Amway Centre, the Wine and Gold slumped to their franchise single-season record 20th straight
loss. That makes them the first team to lose 20 games on the trot since 2000.
The last time the Cavs came out on top in a game was an overtime time win over the New York Knicks in December 2010; the only saving grace from a 31-match losing streak. The situation gets even more complicated and perhaps a tad humiliating for the Cavs
next up, as they head straight into the den of LeBron James, who they now love to hate.
On the night though, the Cavaliers followed a path that has become all too familiar against the Eastern Conference heavyweights this season. They lost pace early in the piece, made a second half surge to bring the deficit to single-digits, and then watched
Orlando hit the gas and pull away down the stretch. That gave Orlando their fifth win on the trot against the Cavs.
The Magic were led by the ever dependant Dwight Howard. The intimidating centre pounded 20 points and 20 rebounds in three quarters, en-route to his fourth 20-20 and 36th double-double of the season.
Howard though, was not the only one on fire on Sunday night. Ryan Anderson followed suit with a career-high 23 points, including 5-of-10 from long-range, for Orlando and added a career-high 16 rebounds. Anderson’s endeavours marked the third time he has
led his new franchise in scoring since coming into their fold nearly a month ago.
Three other Magic players featured in double figures. J.J. Reddick came off the bench to score 17 points while Jason Richardson and Brandon Bass had 12 apiece.
Barring the first quarter of play, where they shot at nearly 67 percent, the Magic had a forgettable shooting night. The home-team finished on a paltry 41.3 percent from the court, 9-of-31 from downtown and 18-of-28 from the charity stripe. However, they
thoroughly dominated the Cavs on the glass by 61-35, and in second-chance points at 15-4.
Pitching up a competitive line-up against the mighty Magic was always a tough ask for the Cavs coach. With so many players on the sidelines with injury issues, Byron Scott didn’t have much to play with. Daniel Gibson was held back even though he managed
to brave through an injury.
In his absence, Scott attempted to inject some life in his club by starting with guard Manny Harris. The move didn’t pay off though as he had nobody to back him up on the field. Harris led the Cavs with 20 points, but was the only starter in double figures,
as the short-handed Cavs continued their offensive struggle.
Samardo Samuels came off the bench to score 16 points while Ryan Hollins also ended up in double-figures for the Cavaliers. He went 4-of-5 from the floor despite battling foul trouble that came with checking Orlando’s All-Star big man.
Continued in Part 2
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