Wrap-Up – Whether it was the return of Iman Shumpert to the lineup, the comeback win to snap their losing streak two nights earlier or just the warm Florida weather, the Wine and Gold looked like the dominant squad that went 11-3 in November – crushing the Magic, 111-76, on Friday night in Orlando.
After averaging 18.5 points in his last two fourth quarters, LeBron never had to leave the bench in the final period on Friday.
The four-time MVP was a one-man wrecking crew through three quarters in Orlando – notching 20 of his 25 points in the first half, with each bucket coming from point-blank range. James was almost unstoppable before intermission before spending the third quarter padding Cleveland’s lead. Overall, he was 10-of-15 from the floor while also leading both squads with eight assists and four steals.
But James was just one of the stars in the Cavaliers’ victory over Orlando – their 12th straight against the Magic.
Iman Shumpert made his first appearance of the season after being sidelined following right wrist surgery just before Training Camp tipped off. He showed absolutely no rust in his return to action, finishing with 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting, adding three boards in 24 minutes of action.
Timofey Mozgov bounced back from being benched in the second half of Tuesday’s win at The Q – and a rough start to his season, going 8-of-9 from the floor and netting a season-high 17 points in just over 19 minutes of work.
Matthew Dellavedova, the NBA’s assist-to-turnover leader, tallied double-figures for the fourth time in his last five outings – going 5-of-7 from the field for 12 points and six assists – one of three Cavalier starters (along with LeBron and Kevin Love) to hand out at least six helpers.
Those starters spent most or all of the fourth quarter on the bench, taking great delight in James Jones shooting display – going absolutely berserk with every trey that Jones drained. When he hit his third straight late in the fourth period, Cleveland’s reserves could barely be contained by the bench area.
<a href="
GameTracker:
View game stats.
View photos from Orlando.
Shumpert converts the and-one.
Watch final game highlights.
The final score held no secrets. The Cavaliers crushed the Magic in every facet of the game – shooting 57 percent from the floor to Orlando’s 39 per cent – dominating Scott Skiles’ young club in the paint (50-28) and on the fastbreak (14-3).
Turning Point --- After weathering some white-knuckle affairs over the past couple weeks, including an overtime thriller one week earlier, Friday’s contest at the Amway Center featured a total of zero ties and lead changes. Cleveland took a 3-0 lead on Jared Cunningham’s trey to start the game and never looked back.
The Magic got within six midway through the second quarter, but LeBron James made sure that’s as close as they’d get. With just over three minutes remaining in the first half, James scored on a gliding reverse layup and again off a steal at mid-court – charging past Orlando’s Elfrid Payton for the man-sized layup and tax, flexing his guns for stunned crowd.
Overall, James would go on to score 16 of Cleveland’s 31 second-quarter points – giving the Cavs a 16-point lead at intermission and all the breathing room they’d need to improve to 15-7 on the season.
By the Numbers – 2,787 … rebounds that Tristan Thompson has now grabbed during his career as a Cavalier – surpassing Tyrone Hill to crack the franchise’s Top 10.
Quotable – LeBron James, praising teammate James Jones -- effusively …
”He is my favorite player of all-time. Every time he does anything, I’m probably the most excited person. I told J.J. that as long as I’m playing he is going to be around. He is not allowed to stop playing basketball. I will make sure I have a roster spot for him. I love him. He is the greatest teammate I have ever had. He’s my favorite player ever. Everybody on the bench loves him and you can tell. He’s a guy who always works on his craft every single day. No matter what the circumstance is…either a blowout, a close game or whatever…he’s always ready. He stays even keel. He’s perfect.”
Up Next –After throttling the Magic on Friday night in Orlando, the Wine and Gold get a short road break before heading to Boston for a Tuesday night matchup with the Celtics – their first trip to the TD Garden since sweeping the Celts out of the postseason last spring. After that, the Cavaliers return home for the final three home games of the month of December – welcoming the Thunder to Cleveland for a nationally-televised contest next Thursday, the 1-22 Sixers for a Sunday afternoon matchup before wrapping up the mini-homestand on December 23 against the Knicks.