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#CavsMagic Game Preview - January 18, 2018

Game Summary

The Cavaliers (26-17) continue their three-game homestand as they battle the Southeast Division's Orlando Magic (13-31) on Thursday night. Tipoff from The Q is set for 7:00 p.m. (ET).

With the second half of the 2017-18 season already underway, the Cavaliers are looking to jump start the home stretch with a win on Thursday after falling to the Golden State Warriors on Monday night.

Cavaliers

Cavs Host Magic
From where to catch all the action to Thursday's game notes, Cavs.com has you covered.

FOX Sports Ohio

WTAM 1100, 100.7 WMMS, 87.7 FM La Mega

Joe G.'s guide to a victory.

Learn more about Thursday's matchup.

Join Wine & Gold Nation and get into the convo.

Great seats are still available!

Even though the Wine & Gold couldn't contain the Dubs, the squad is still excelling at home, holding a 13-1 record at The Q since November 7. Over that stretch, Cleveland is averaging 113.9 points (.502 FG%, .401 3FG%) and 25.9 assists and have dished out at least 25 assists in each of their last eight home games.

On an individual level, Kevin Love has also put up strong numbers since November 7 at The Q, averaging 21.9 points on .541 (93-172) shooting from the field, including .484 (31-64) from beyond the arc, and 9.9 rebounds in 30.6 minutes. In the January 6 win against the Magic, Love shot 6-12 (.500) from beyond the arc and finished with 27 points and five rebounds in 28 minutes.

Against the Warriors, specifically, a number of Cavaliers had key performances, including LBJ, TT and DWade. James led his team in both points (32) and assists (six) while tying Tristan Thompson in rebounds with eight against the Warriors. With those eight boards, Tristan Thompson has now pulled down at least seven rebounds in all seven games this month (8.3 RPG, first among all bench players in January).

Coming off the bench, Dwyane Wade had another solid all-around game against the Warriors on Monday (10 pts, 7 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl and 25 min).

As the Cavaliers look to grab their first win of their current homestand on Thursday, the Magic are simply looking to right the ship after a rough few months.

After starting their season 8-2, Orlando sits at the bottom of the Southeast Division after dropping 18 of their last 20 contests. However, the Magic did knock off the Northwest Division-leading Minnesota Timberwolves in their most recent contest on Tuesday, which could give them a boost of confidence going forward into the second half of the season.

In the 108-102 win, the Magic had six players score in double digits with three coming off the bench for a well-rounded scoring effort. The Frenchman Evan Fournier led his squad in points with 32 while big man Bismack Biymobo dominated the boards, grabbing 16 rebounds en route to their 13th victory.

Where to Catch the Action

TV: FOX Sports Ohio

Radio: WTAM 1100, 100.7 WMMS, 87.7 La Mega

Programming Note: On Thursday, FOX Sports Ohio is airing the Blue Jackets – Stars (7:00 p.m.) and the Cavs – Magic game (7:00 p.m.). To view TV listings, CLICK HERE.

For live in-game updates, follow @cavs, @CavsJoeG, @CavsFredMcLeod, @MrCavalier34, @CavsJMike and @chones22 on Twitter.

Probable Starters/Status Update*

#3 - Isaiah Thomas

#5 - JR Smith

#23 - LeBron James

#99 - Jae Crowder

#0 - Kevin Love

G

G

F

F

C

#2 - Elfrid Payton

#10 - Evan Fournier

#17 - Jonathan Simmons

#00 - Aaron Gordon

#11 - Bismack Biyombo

Status Update: (Cavs) - Derrick Rose, (Left ankle sprain, Probable), Iman Shumpert, (Left knee effusion, Out)

Status Update: (Magic) - Jonathan Isaac, (Sore right ankle, Questionable), Terrence Ross, (Sprained right MCL, non-displaced fracture of right tibial plateau, Questionable), Nikola Vucevic, (Fractured second metacarpal, left hand, Questionable)

*Subject to change.

Head-to-Head Matchup

Thursday's matchup between the Cavaliers and Magic will be the third time these two teams have met this season. The Magic took the first contest back on October 21 in Cleveland while the Cavs snagged the second meeting on January 6 on the road.

In total, the Cavs are 18-1 in their last 19 meetings against the Magic. Over that stretch that began on February 3, 2013, Cleveland has outscored Orlando by an average of 12.7 points (109.4-96.7), while outshooting them from the field (.472-.435) and from beyond the arc (.400-.347). The Wine & Gold have also dished out 24.5 assists (12.4 TOs) in those 19 contests.

In their most recent contest versus the Magic, Cleveland scored a season-high 131 points on 47-94 (.500) shooting from the field in their victory on January 6 at the Amway Center (131-127). The Cavs also had 25 assists and scored 60 points in the paint (third-most this season), 23 second chance points (season high) and 25 fast break points (second-most this season). Defensively, the Cavs swiped 11 steals and scored 33 points (second-most this season) off 20 Magic turnovers.

Following Thursday night's contest in The Land, the two teams will meet once more on February 6 in Orlando to round out the four-game regular season series.

On Deck

Following Thursday night's dual with the Magic, the Cavaliers will conclude their homestand with a matinee matchup on Saturday as they battle the Oklahoma City Thunder at 3:30 p.m. (ET). The Wine & Gold will then hit the road on Tuesday, January 23 for the first of two matchups with the San Antonio Spurs before returning home on Friday, January 26 against the Indiana Pacers.