Recap Cavs 116, Magic 104 (or, LeBron James is good at basketball)

Coming into last night’s road game against the Orlando Magic, the Cleveland Cavaliers were in arguably their worst rut of the season, losers of three games in a row and four of their last five. They’d shot poorly from three, played terrible defense, and hadn’t really had a set rotation. Some of this could be attributed to the addition/return of several new players, along with several injuries to key pieces. The biggest reason seemed to be a startling lack of effort from a team that should be gearing up for the playoffs. Facing a team in the Magic that they had beaten 15 straight times seemed to be a great way for the Cavs to begin to right the ship.

First Quarter

With Kevin Love still out, and J.R. Smith working off the rust, the Cavaliers went with a starting lineup of Kyrie Irving, Iman Shumpert, LeBron James, Richard Jefferson, and Tristan Thompson. The Magic countered with Elfrid Payton, Evan Fournier, Terrence Ross, Aaron Gordon, and Nikola Vucevic, who was returning from an achilles injury. Neither team started off with much energy, despite only the Magic playing on the second night of a back to back. In fact, Cavs coach Tyronn Lue called his first time out just over two minutes into the game with his team trailing 4-2, and the look on his face showed his disappointment with his team’s early effort.

Things didn’t change much out of the time-out as a turnover by James led to a pair of freebies by Fournier after Irving fouled him on a drive to the basket. The Magic pushed their lead to four by attacking the basket, but nine straight points by Iman Shumpert, including a pair of threes, quickly gave the Cavaliers a 12-9 lead as he made the Magic pay for ignoring him on offense.

SHUMP. 😎 pic.twitter.com/zrGgGS1lW3

— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) March 12, 2017

After a time out, Shumpert tried to dribble between his legs and promptly turned the ball over. He didn’t give up on the play, however, and was able to disrupt the ensuing layup attempt by Payton. J.R. Smith entered the game for Jefferson, moving LeBron to the power forward position. The Cavaliers outside of Shumpert continued to stay cold from three, while the Magic took the lead back behind a combination of attacking the basket, hitting their mid-range shots, and poor defensive effort from the Cavaliers. Irving finally knocked down his first three of the game to tie it, but another mid-range shot, this time by Ross, put the Magic back up on top. Lue brought in Deron Williams, Derrick Williams, and Channing Frye to go along with Irving, and Smith, and this lineup, which had never played together before, actually outscored the Magic as the Cavaliers trailed by a score of 25-24 after the first quarter despite shooting just 38% from the field.

Second Quarter

The Cavs started the quarter with Deron Williams, Derrick Williams, LeBron James, Richard Jefferson, and Channing Frye. James went on the attack, finding Derrick Williams for a finish at the rim, splitting a pair of free throws. He then threw down a monster dunk to give the Cavaliers the lead. D.J. Augustin countered with five points of his own to put the Magic back on top. The Cavaliers began to move the ball more and found Channing Frye for a corner three, plus Derrick Williams for another monster dunk. James continued to attack the rim, throwing down yet another jam, but failing to convert the and-one. After a bucket by the Magic, the Cavaliers took their largest lead of the game on a pair of threes by Frye and Deron Williams off great passes by James and Derrick Williams, respectively. The Magic countered by continuing to attack the basket and get to the line, including a pair off freebies and dunk by Bismack Biyombo that cut the Cavs’ lead to three and forced another time out by Lue.

The Cavs returned from the time out attacking in transition, leading to three straight points by Thompson. They also started to show more focus and hustle on the defensive end, pushing their lead to 10 points while holding the Magic scoreless for over two-and-a-half minutes. The rest of the quarter dragged a bit, as there were several trips to the line by both teams, but the Cavs went into the half leading 59-51. This was the strongest defensive quarter by the Wine & Gold in a while, as the Magic shot just 35% from the floor.

Third Quarter

The second half started with a pair of thunderous dunks by James and Aaron Gordon. A three by Fournier and dunk by Gordon cut the Cavs’ lead to three and forced a time out less than 90 seconds into the half. The Cavs came out of the time out with yet another jam by James, but Fournier was left open for another three. He then stole the ball and a bucket by Vucevic tied it. A game of runs broke out as the Cavs scored five straight points, followed the Magic responding with four of their own, before the Cavs scored five more behind a three by Irving and a Thompson bucket off an assist by Kyrie. The runs ended as the Cavaliers responded to a bucket by Vucevic with another bucket from the Irving-to-Thompson connection. The Magic began to go to Vucevic in the post more, and he kept them in the game. A shaky foul call on Richard Jefferson sent Terrence Ross to the line and pulled the Magic to within a bucket, but four straight points by Irving and a three by Smith gave the Cavaliers some breathing room for a moment. The Magic came back with a pair of buckets by Gordon and Vucevic, but another three by Smith pushed the Cavs’ lead to eight before James took a seat for the rest of the quarter. As has been the case since the fall of 2014, the Cavs struggled to score without James, but still played the Magic evenly while he rested, and led 87-79 heading into the final frame.

Throw it anywhere near LeBron and you're 👌 pic.twitter.com/kY3o8YxVKc

— NBA (@NBA) March 12, 2017

Fourth Quarter

The Cavaliers started the fourth quarter with a lineup of Deron Williams, Smith, James, Derrick Williams, and Frye. A bucket by Frye off a laser by James briefly pushed the Cavs’ lead to double digits before a three by Mario Hezonja and a pair of free throws by C.J. Watson cut the lead to just five. Smith then hit his third three of the night, but Jeff Green converted an and-one after a foul by Derrick Williams in response. James continued his hot shooting from deep with a three of his own, only to be countered with a jumper by Watson. Richard Jefferson was then called for an offensive foul, and Watson continued his hot fourth with a three to make it a one possession game. Five straight points by Deron Williams pushed the Cavalier’s lead back to eight, but Watson drew a foul and knocked down a pair of free throws. Vucevic returned for the Magic, and was promptly isolated by James, who went right to the rim to earn an and-one, which he converted. Another jumper by Deron Williams pushed the lead back to double digits before Vucevic responded. James and Vuceivc each split a pair of free throws and James corralled a missed layup by Payton for his ninth triple double of the season. After the Magic cut the lead to six, James and Shumpert hit back-to-back threes for the daggers. James shut down a layup attempt by Fournier, and a layup by Irving allowed Lue to sub out James and Irving with 1:32 left. Garbage time ensued, and the Cavaliers got back on the winning side with a 116-104 victory.

Pretty way to become the 7th Wine & Golder in double-figures tonight. #DefendTheLand https://t.co/J91QWfNiRn

— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) March 12, 2017

Things I Noticed

LeBron finished with 24 points, 12 rebounds, and 13 assists. Ho-hum. The Cavs may want to hang on to this guy.

Nice game by Shumpert tonight. He needed a shooting night like this.

Not a great night from three for Kyrie, and his defense was its typical level. The first thing happens to the best of them, the second keeps him from being an MVP-level player.

A much better performance by J.R. Smith in his second night back. He was 4-of-8 from the floor, and 3-of-7 from three. It will likely take a while for him to shake the rust off, but this was a nice step for Smith.

There’s no doubt the Cavaliers have struggled lately, luckily for them, the Boston Celtics have been just as bad. In fact, the Cavs have actually gained a half-game on the Celtics over the last ten games, while the Washington Wizards have moved into second place in the Eastern Conference. With the injuries to the Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, and San Antonio Spurs, the door is as open as it’s been all season for a team to climb into the NBA’s upper echelon. So far, no one has been up to the task.

No one is intimidated by the Cavs right now. Obviously most NBA players have supreme confidence and aren’t going to just roll over for another team. It’s also pretty typical for the defending champions to get the opposing team’s best shot. That said, the Magic attacked the Cavaliers’ defense with confidence, and did so while hardly shooting any threes. Can the Cavs fix their defense in time for the playoffs? Yes. Do they need to if they want to win a repeat as champs? Absolutely. This was their best defensive game in a while, but it was against a team that struggles with three-point shooting. We’ll see how they do against a better offensive team.

Just when I think I’m out on Derrick Williams, he pulls me back in. The idea of him being a defensive help against the Warriors still seems absurd, particularly after Jeff Green gave him the business, but his ability to run the floor and play off the ball at the power forward position have really made him a nice bench piece for this team.

Richard Jefferson uses lots of slightly dirty veteran tricks, and then goes crazy when the officials call him on it. It’s pretty hilarious.

Nothing is so terrible a date with Magic can't fix. This makes 16 straight wins vs Orlando, tied for longest streak in NBA vs. one opponent

— Jason Lloyd (@ByJasonLloyd) March 12, 2017

The Magic have some interesting players, but this roster lacks outside shooting, and the pieces don’t fit together well. Vucevic is a gifted scorer and rebounder, but gives a ton back on defense. Payton did a great job on Irving defensively, but can’t shoot to save his life. Frank Vogel is a really good coach, but he needs a more well rounded roster than this. Who wouldn’t?

The Cavs have now won 16 straight games against the Magic. They’ll face a much more difficult task tonight as they travel to Houston to take on James Harden and the Rockets. Until then, Go Cavs!