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 LeBron James scored 25 points as the Cavaliers beat the Magic for
the 12th consecutive time -- their longest win streak against any
team -- as they coasted through the second half of a wire-to-wire
win.
"We were tough," James said. "When we get out and defend early, we
can do some special things out there. It's a mindset. I just wanted
to put my staple on the game early."
James hit 10 of 15 shots and added eight assists in only 29 minutes.
He had 20 in the first half when the game was decided. He sat out
the fourth quarter, along with the rest of the Cleveland starters.
The Cavaliers led 83-52 after three periods.
"It was a fun game for us," Cavaliers coach David Blatt said. "It
felt good, to have the first unit cheering on the second unit in a
happy and fun way finally in the fourth quarter. It's been awhile
since we had a game like that."
The Magic (12-11) never challenged for the lead after Cleveland
scored the game's first five points. It was the Magic's worst loss
this season, eclipsing the 14-point defeat in Cleveland in November.
"That's a great team. They were ready and they basically just toyed
with us," Magic coach Scott Skiles said.
"Things were out of hand a minute into the game. They got out of
hand real quick."
Cavaliers guard Iman Shumpert made his season debut and looked
sharp. He hit five of seven shots for 14 points in 24 minutes. The
Cavaliers were without starter J.R. Smith, who remained in Cleveland
with a flu-like illness.
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They still are without point guard Kyrie Irving, but they looked
plenty good enough against the Magic.
The Magic got 14 points from Nikola Vucevic, their only starter to
reach double figures. Rookie reserve Mario Hezonja had 12 points. No
one else scored more than nine.
"It was pretty embarrassing to lose like this," Vucevic said. "This
one was just pretty bad. It was a blowout, and that's not something
we're proud of. Against a team like Cleveland, you have to bring it
all."
Cleveland shot 56.9 percent from the field (41 of 72) and
outrebounded the Magic, 45-30.
(Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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