Cavaliers-Magic Preview

By KATE HEDLIN
Posted Feb 02 2012 4:07PM

While their home win over one of the NBA's worst teams may not have been inspiring, the Orlando Magic are feeling better after a frustrating losing streak.

The Magic will try to build on the victory when they go for their seventh straight win over the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night.

After an ugly four-game skid in which it averaged 76.0 points and shot 39.4 percent, Orlando defeated Washington 109-103 on Wednesday.

The Magic (13-9), though, struggled against the lowly Wizards. They had 11 turnovers in the first half and had to hold on after Washington rallied late.

Dwight Howard had 23 points and 18 rebounds, while Hedo Turkoglu scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half. Turkoglu averaged 5.8 points, had 16 assists to 15 turnovers and shot 20.6 percent during the losing streak.

Orlando said the victory won't mean much if it can't carry the momentum forward.

"I think we need to look to the next game and bring the same effort and energy," said forward Ryan Anderson, who made six 3-pointers and scored 23. "We didn't want to focus too much on that streak because that's a week we'd all like to forget. Those games we'd all like to forget about and we can move forward and get a win next game and just start a little run.

"This started our confidence, but we need to follow through with it."

Coach Stan Van Gundy still has concerns about the offense, though. The Magic have averaged 18.0 turnovers over the last four games and have been hurt by the absence of point guard Jameer Nelson, who has missed the last three contests with concussion symptoms.

"It's frustrating to me as a coach because I can't figure out what we're doing wrong," Van Gundy said.

Orlando will try to win back-to-back games for the first time since a five-game run Jan. 8-17 when it hosts a Cleveland team that lost 93-90 on its own court Tuesday to split a home-and-home series with Boston.

After overcoming an 11-point deficit in the final 4 1/2 minutes of Sunday's 88-87 victory in Boston, the Cavs (8-12) nearly did it again Tuesday. They trimmed a 22-point lead to two with 1:18 remaining, but the Celtics scored the next four points.

"We just couldn't finish it off," said point guard Kyrie Irving, the NBA's rookie of the month for January who scored 13 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter. "They gave us their best shot and it came down to the final minutes. We've just got to keep our energy up for 48 minutes."

Cleveland was short-handed with guards Daniel Gibson and Anthony Parker out. Rookie forward Tristan Thompson did not return after injuring his left ankle in the second quarter and is day to day.

Undrafted rookie guard Mychel Thompson is expected to get his second straight start. After playing just once in the first 18 games, he played 12 minutes off the bench Sunday, then made his first NBA start Tuesday, finishing with eight points, four assists and three turnovers.

"I just kind of stared at him for a second as he took his jacket off," coach Byron Scott said. "It wasn't one of those 'Oh, my God,' (looks). ... I can't remember the last time I put a player in a situation like that and saw him play so well."

Including playoffs, the Cavs have lost three straight and 11 of 13 in Orlando.

Howard's big night leads Magic past Cavs 102-94

By KYLE HIGHTOWER
Posted Feb 03 2012 11:09PM

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) Predicting which Orlando Magic team shows up from night to night has been a daily guessing game.

A recent season-high four-game losing streak was plagued with turnovers, inconsistent play on defense and stale offense.

Since then, the Magic have dug out of the muck, earning their second straight victory, 102-94 over the Cleveland Cavaliers Friday night.

Dwight Howard scored 19 points, had 16 rebounds and blocked eight shots, and hit some key late free-throws to help ward off a late Cavs' charge.

Jason Richardson also added 19 points in his first action in two games after resting a sore knee. Hedo Turkoglu finished with 18 points and Ryan Anderson chipped in 17.

"We did good job of spacing the floor out, moving the ball and getting each other involved," Richardson said. "It was really good for us tonight. Everybody was involved, did a good job on both ends and got the win."

The Magic won their seventh straight over the Cavaliers, despite playing without injured starting point guard Jameer Nelson and suspended reserve big man Glen Davis.

Orlando continues a stretch of nine games in 13 days Saturday at Indiana.

Alonzo Gee led Cleveland with 20 points, followed by Kyrie Irving with 18.

The Cavs have lost three of their last four and returns home to host Dallas on Saturday before going to Miami on Tuesday.

The Magic came in averaging 15.5 turnovers per game, but had just five against the Cavs and opened up a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter.

The Cavs got it down to 95-90 with 2:12 to play by fouling Howard intentionally and sending him to the free-throw line.

Howard missed four straight attempts from the line during one stretch before sinking a pair to give the Magic a seven-point cushion and help close it out. He finished 9 for 16 for the evening.

He said he is never surprised when teams resort to fouling him, especially with the career-low 47 percent he came in shooting from the stripe.

"No, that's the game plan," Howard said. "Until I get better at the line they're gonna continue to do it. It is what it is. I shot them better. I just gotta continue to work on them. They'll fall."

Despite the missing and still healing bodies on their roster, the Magic managed to take a nine-point advantage into the break, building their cushion by hitting six first-half 3s. Richardson also hit five of his six field goal attempts for 11 points.

Cleveland also helped out, connecting on only 29 percent of its field goals (14 for 48). Antawn Jamison kept the Cavs close with an 11-point, 10 rebound effort in the half.

The Cavaliers finished shooting 36 percent, ultimately undermining their fouling strategy.

"I think you can do it at any point in time," Scott said. "I don't think you necessarily have to have to be down. Until he proves he can hit 75 percent on those free throws on a consistent basis."

Cleveland scored 41 points in the fourth quarter.

"I wish we could put the first three quarters together like we did the fourth," he said. "We couldn't throw the ball in the ocean for the first three quarters. It was tough."

Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy had to make some pregame adjustments to his rotation after Davis was suspended for two games prior to tip-off Friday for conduct detrimental to the team. He'll also miss the Indiana game.

Van Gundy acknowledged before the game that he and Davis were involved in a verbal incident during the morning walkthrough, but said nothing physical took place. He didn't elaborate further, though added he said he didn't expect the suspension to go beyond two games.

Nelson continues to deal with concussion symptoms. Without a true third point guard behind Chris Duhon, the team released Larry Hughes following Wednesday's win over Washington and signed free agent Ish Smith Thursday.

Smith had two early assists, including one on a dunk by Earl Clark, but also had three fouls in just five minutes of action early. He finished with four assists in nine minutes of action.

Van Gundy said it was nice to have Richardson back, but he will reserve evaluation for a few more days.

"I don't know if today is as big a test as tomorrow," Van Gundy said. "I think when he gets up and gets moving on it tomorrow will be the bigger test."

NOTES: Van Gundy said Nelson, who sat out his fourth straight game with concussion symptoms, did do some limited, off-court physical activity Friday and has a chance of returning Monday against the L.A. Clippers. ... The Cavs played without G Daniel Gibson (soft tissue infection in neck), G Anthony Parker (back strain) and F Tristan Thompson (ankle sprain).

Notebook: Magic 102, Cavaliers 94

By Dick Scanlon, for NBA.com
Posted Friday February 3, 2012 11:10PM

THE FACTS: Dwight Howard shot all 16 of his free throws in the last six minutes and made nine, enough for the Orlando Magic to thwart a Cleveland comeback bid and beat the Cavaliers, 102-94.

Howard and Jason Richardson scored 19 points each, and Howard added 16 rebounds and eight blocks, helping the Magic hold the Cavaliers to 53 points through the first three quarters.

Alonzo Gee came off the Cleveland bench with a career-high 20 points, 13 of them in the final quarter.

QUOTABLE: "That's the game plan. Until I do better at the line, they're going to continue to do it. It was a good game plan, coming down the stretch . . . and as long as we got the win, that's the only thing that matters."
-- Howard on Cleveland's Hack-a-Howard strategy of fouling him intentionally in the backcourt late in the game.

THE STAT: The Cavaliers shot a dismal 29 percent through the first three quarters before shots started falling -- too late -- in the fourth.

QUOTABLE II: "We couldn't put the ball in the ocean for the first three quarters."
-- Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving.

TURNING POINT: 3-pointers by Ryan Anderson and Richardson kicked off a 11-0 run that left the Magic with a 13-point lead in the second quarter. The Cavaliers were chasing the Magic all night after that.

HOT: Gee, who came into the game with an 8.3 scoring average and a 33 percent 3-point shooting, scored 13 points in the fourth quarter and made all three of his threes.

NOT: J.J. Redick, back in a bench role with the return of Richardson to the Magic starting lineup, went scoreless in 23 minutes.

GOOD MOVE: Down by 21 at one point, the Cavs were able to close the gap to five with the help of the Hack-a-Howard strategy, which stopped the clock five times in 49 seconds late in the fourth quarter.

QUOTABLE III: " I thought it worked pretty well to the point where Ryan Anderson got the offensive rebound. Then we had to foul (Howard) again. He had missed about three or four in a row and then he made the second one of that (trip), and that seemed to get him back on a rhythm and he makes the next three or four straight."
-- Cleveland coach Byron Scott.

BAD MOVE: Magic forward Glen Davis had an "incident" with head coach Stan Van Gundy during a walk-through session earlier Friday, and the Magic suspended him for two games.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: With the eight blocked shots, Howard flirted with a triple double in only 38 minutes.

ROOKIE WATCH: Irving had 18 points and six assists for the Cavaliers while backcourt mate Mychel Thompson went scoreless in 30 minutes.

NOTABLE: Cleveland (the NBA's No. 2 rebounding team) outrebounded Orlando (No. 4), 57-45 . . . Crowded out of Indianapolis by the Super Bowl, the Magic will stay in the Cincinnati area tonight before flying to tonight's game at Indiana . . . Howard, who averages more than 12 free-throw attempts per game, did not shoot one against Cleveland until only 5:55 remained . . . The Magic have beaten the Cavs seven straight times.

UP NEXT: For the Cavaliers, Saturday vs. Dallas, Tuesday @ Miami, Wednesday vs. L.A. Clippers. For the Magic, Saturday @ Indiana, Monday vs. L.A. Clippers, Wednesday vs. Miami.

• Cavaliers: Gibson, Parker, Thompson
• Magic: Davis, Nelson

• Cavaliers: --
• Magic: --

• Lead Changes: 1
• Times Tied: 2

• Arena: Amway Center, Orlando, FL
• Officials: #25 Tony Brothers, #44 Eli Roe, #66 Haywoode Workman
• Attendance: 18933
• Duration: 2:17