Cavaliers-Magic Preview

By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO
Posted Nov 23 2012 12:37AM

However unlikely, Jeremy Pargo is trying to continue softening the blow of a major absence for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Orlando Magic are just looking for some consistency.

Pargo looks to build on the best performance of his career and help the visiting Cavaliers beat the Magic for the first time in 10 tries Friday night.

Cleveland's already rough start looked to get much worse when it found out earlier this week that Kyrie Irving would miss a month with a broken left index finger.

It was only one game, but Pargo filled in quite nicely for the reigning rookie of the year Wednesday. He scored a career-high 28 points while hitting 11 of 19 from the field - 4 for 8 from beyond the arc - to power a 92-83 win over Philadelphia that snapped the Cavaliers' six-game slide.

"Those are some big shoes to fill," said Pargo, who made his sixth NBA start and first with Cleveland (3-8). "I wanted to come out aggressive, play within myself and do whatever it took to win the game. You don't want to come out and force things."

While Pargo and rookie Dion Waiters are tasked with keeping the starting backcourt stable, Anderson Varejao continues to be a force on the boards, averaging 13.7 rebounds to rank behind only Memphis' Zach Randolph (13.8). The center pulled down 19 boards while adding 10 points Wednesday, but has missed four of Cleveland's last five games against the Magic (4-7).

He wasn't around for the Cavaliers' 93-80 road loss March 23, extending their slide in Orlando to five games. That's part of their nine-game overall losing streak to the Magic, during which they've averaged 90.3 points on 41.6 percent shooting.

Orlando is trying to win back-to-back games for the first time since starting the season 2-0.

The Magic opened this five-game homestand with a balanced effort Wednesday, when five players scored in double digits in a 90-74 win over Detroit. Orlando trailed by three at the half before a 21-0 run to open the third quarter, and it wound up holding the Pistons to 32.9 percent shooting.

The Magic, who also host Boston, San Antonio and Brooklyn on this homestand, have 30 fast-break points over their last two games - upping an 8.7-point average on the break that was the third-worst in the league.

"That's the key for us, we have to become a better transition team," swingman Arron Afflalo said. "And the only way we're going to do that is to start getting stops. That was very welcoming to see for us to put together a defensive effort like that (Wednesday). That kind of allowed us to dictate the game a little bit.

"So hopefully we can carry that over."

Afflalo leads the Magic with 15.0 points per game, but he's totaled 18 while making 8 of 23 from the floor over the last two games.

He's connected on 20 of 33 field goals, including 7 of 13 from beyond the arc, to average 19.0 points over his last three meetings with Cleveland - all with Denver.

Nelson helps Magic outlast Cavs 108-104

By KYLE HIGHTOWER
Posted Nov 23 2012 11:26PM

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) Jameer Nelson and the Orlando Magic proved they're still dangerous from long range if they need a big rally.

Nelson had 22 points, Arron Afflalo scored 19 and the Magic made 11 3-pointers in a 108-104 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night.

"It means a great deal to me to get this win," said Glen Davis, who had 16 points and eight rebounds. "We need to get as much games as possible and try to get back to .500 and compete for the chance to be somewhere in the postseason.

"And also for our confidence and our young guys to make sure that they can learn and understand what we have to do to take the win."

Davis had 10 points in Orlando's big fourth quarter. Nelson finished with six assists for the Magic (5-7), who have won two straight and continue their five-game homestand Sunday against Boston.

During the height of the Dwight Howard era, Orlando had a reputation for shooting lots of 3-pointers in some games. That changed following the arrival of new coach Jacque Vaughn's more motion-based system.

But for one night, at least, this new version of the Magic showed they still remember how to let the ball fly from deep. The 11 3s were a season high.

"You look down at the stat sheet and the minutes and there's numbers all over the place, guys contributing in a lot of different ways," Vaughn said. "Another example of how we can play as a team, band together, rebound together as much as we can, just getting it to the open guy (and) just keeping it simple."

Orlando led the league in made 3-pointers each of the last three seasons, but was making just over four per game this year.

Dion Waiters scored 25 points for Cleveland, and Anderson Varejao had 19. The Cavaliers have lost seven of eight and face Miami on Saturday.

Orlando had 16 turnovers in the first half, but just two after the break.

"I think that was the biggest difference," Cleveland coach Byron Scott said. "We didn't get up and pressure them like we did in the first half. ... Again, we allowed another team to shoot a high percentage tonight, and those guys shot the ball pretty well."

The Cavs also outscored the Magic 22-8 in the paint in the first half, but were outscored 32-18 inside in the final 24 minutes.

Saddled with turnover issues in the first half, the Magic trailed for most of the game but managed to make their surge by turning some of the Cavaliers' miscues into easy points. It was tied headed to the fourth quarter, and there were eight lead changes in the final 12 minutes.

Afflalo hit a 3-pointer from the wing with less than two minutes remaining, giving the Magic a 98-94 lead.

A free throw and tip-in by Tyler Zeller trimmed Orlando's advantage to a point, but a driving layup by Nikola Vucevic restored the Magic's three-point lead at 100-97 with 32.3 seconds to play.

J.J. Redick hit eight free throws in the final minute to help the Magic hold on.

The Magic also were continuing an adjustment period of sorts, with rookie Maurice Harkless receiving his second straight start at shooting guard, with Afflalo at small forward.

That experiment looks promising, with the athletic Harkless looking more comfortable and contributing on both sides of the floor.

The Cavaliers played their second consecutive game without point guard Kyrie Irving, who is recovering from a broken bone in his hand.

Jeremy Pargo, coming off a huge effort in his first start of the year, had 15 points for Cleveland. But he struggled to contain Nelson, whose outside shooting spread the floor and opened up Orlando's offense.

"It was crazy. They were making tough shots," Waiters said. "We contested and played defense and I think we played great defense. But they made a lot of tough shots, especially down the stretch."

Waiters said he even tried to resort to other means to shut down Redick, who had 18 points.

"I tried talking to him and say everything, but he was just knocking shots down," Waiters said. "I was telling him `Can you miss?' I was playing but I was serious, like miss a shot please."

Vaughn said he hopes his players take an important lesson from the win.

"It's that simple of first recognizing that we're putting ourselves in a hole because of the turnovers," he said. "It's just recognition and then just making the simple and easy play. That's it."

NOTES: The Magic have won eight straight games over the Cavs, including 18 of the last 23 regular-season matchups. ... Davis went flying into the front row of courtside seats and landed on a fan while chasing a loose ball late in the fourth quarter. But both he and the spectator were fine, and Davis was able to return to the action.

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Follow Kyle Hightower on Twitter at www.twitter.com/khightower

Notebook: Magic 108, Cavaliers 104

Dick Scanlon, for NBA.com
Posted Fri Nov 23, 2012 11:16 PM - Updated Fri Nov 23, 2012 11:16 PM

THE FACTS: J.J. Redick made eight straight free throws in the final 21.9 seconds to help the Orlando Magic hold off the Cleveland Cavaliers, 108-104.

Jameer Nelson (22 points, six rebounds, six assists) and Glen Davis (16 points, eight rebounds) had big games for Orlando in its 10th straight win over the Cavaliers.

Dion Waiters scored a game-high 25 points and Anderson Varejao added 19 points and 17 rebounds for Cleveland, which had a 12-point lead late in the first half.

THE STAT: The Magic had 16 turnovers in the first half (after which they were down by six points) and only two in the second half.

QUOTABLE: "When we came in at the half, we saw that offensive rebounds and turnovers equated to almost 66 percent of their points. So we felt if we took care of our turnovers and did our best to keep 'em off the glass, we were going to have a much better half." -- Magic guard Arron Afflalo

TURNING POINT: The Magic were clinging to a one-point lead with just over two minutes left when Redick missed a 3-pointer, but Nelson got the long rebound and passed to Afflalo, who nailed a three.

HOT: After leading the NBA in 3-point field goals for three straight seasons, the Magic were second-last in the league with only 4.82 per game going into Friday night. But they shot 11-for-21 from behind the arc.

NOT: Daniel Gibson, who had missed the Cavs' two preceding games with a sore right elbow, played 25 minutes without making a field goal.

GOOD MOVE: Nobody touched the ball inbounds for the Magic in the closing seconds except for Redick, a 90 percent foul shooter.

QUOTABLE II: "It's hard with that guy (Redick); he moves so well without the ball. That's just a terrific job, and they do a terrific job of setting screens for him, too." -- Cavaliers coach Byron Scott

BAD MOVE: The Magic were protecting a four-point lead with 16.7 seconds left when E'Twaun Moore fouled Waiters on a jump shot.

IN THE ARENA: People in the courtside seats got a large scare when the 6-foot-9, 289-pound Davis landed in the third row after chasing a loose ball.

QUOTABLE III: "I just missed 'em by a smidge. I couldn't stop. I felt like if I stopped, I'd hurt the person in front of me." -- Davis.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Varejao, the NBA's No. 2 rebounder, has grabbed 15 or more rebounds in four of his last five games.

ROOKIE WATCH: Waiters and Tyler Zeller came up big for the Cavs, combining for 38 points and 12 rebounds. ... The Magic's Maurice Harkless had six points and four rebounds in his second start.

NOTABLE: Kyrie Irving missed his second straight game for the Cavaliers with a fractured left finger. ... Cleveland's last win over the Magic was in February of 2010. ... Davis had 10 points in the fourth quarter, Nelson had none. ... Thirteen of Orlando's 20 free throws came in the fourth quarter. ... The Cavaliers outscored the Magic in the paint, 22-8, in the first half, but it was 40-40 at the end. ... The Magic average 105 points in their five wins, and 76.9 points in their seven losses.

UP NEXT: For the Cavaliers: Saturday @ Miami, Monday @ Memphis, Tuesday vs. Phoenix. For the Magic: Sunday vs. Boston, Wednesday vs. San Antonio, Friday vs. Brooklyn.

• Cavaliers: Harangody, Irving
• Magic: Harrington, Turkoglu

• Cavaliers: --
• Magic: --

• Lead Changes: 17
• Times Tied: 12

• Arena: Amway Center, Orlando, FL
• Officials: #48 Scott Foster, #45 Brian Forte, #12 Violet Palmer
• Attendance: 17334
• Duration: 2:19