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Magic take down LeBron-less Cavs 98 - 92
April 11, 2010
You know it's the end of the regular season when a team takes four shots on the same possession and is still called for a 24-second violation. But that is what happened to Cleveland late in its 98-92 loss to visiting Orlando on Sunday, in a game originally billed as a preview of the Eastern Conference finals. Instead, the Cavs and Magic looked more like two teams in search of a pick-up game. "It was just a bad basketball game from our standpoint," said Magic coach Stan Van Gundy. "But we won, so I'm not going to complain. What else do I take from it? Nothing." Unlike the Cavs (61-20), who secured the NBA's best record a week ago, the Magic (57-23) at least had something to play for. They entered the game tied with the Los Angeles Lakers for the league's second-best record, and are trying to gain an edge should they reach the Finals. Still, finding a reason to stay motivated is a reach for teams like the Magic and Cavs, who share the same priority: Stay healthy for the start of next weekend's playoffs. The Cavs took that approach by resting LeBron James and other selected regulars for the third straight game. Not surprisingly, they have lost three straight, although each has gone down to the final few minutes.
And perhaps that's the difference between having a superstar and not having one. Lately, the Cavs options have been limited at crunch time. At the same time, the Magic weren't exactly on the ball themselves, and much of that admittedly had to do with the fact James' best moves were performed on the sidelines while dancing in a sports coat. "I don't know if we still would have won, but we would've played much better, much more focused had [James] played," Van Gundy said. "The air went out of our locker room when our guys found out he wasn't playing." Yet the Magic finished strongly (or at least better than the Cavs) after falling behind by 16 points in the first half. And LeBron or not, the Cavs can't be real thrilled about blowing another big lead against the team that knocked them out of last year's playoffs. Especially since the Magic won Sunday much like they did in 2009 -- by driving down the middle then passing it back out for wide-open 3-pointers. "I don't care who's on the floor, we can close out on shooters the way we've been teaching the whole year," said Cavs coach Mike Brown. "Getting back in transition and communicating are things we've been talking about for the last five years. It doesn't matter who's on the floor."
For the Magic, center Dwight Howard (22 points, 13 rebounds) was incredibly dominant, leading the Magic's 46-32 advantage in points in the paint. He was just as good defensively, blocking six shots and being solely responsible for about five Cavs airballs. Three of those whiffs came with just more than a minute left, when one of the wildest possessions of the NBA season took place. It began when Cavs forward Jamario Moon's jumper bounced off the rim, and teammate Leon Powe grabbed a rebound. Powe airballed a six-footer, but Cavs guard Delonte West ended up with the ball. Then Howard blocked West's shot. West got it back, and eventually airballed a short jumper himself. Believe it or not, the Cavs got the rebound on that miss, too -- but the shot clock expired before they could fire it up again.
"We fought through," said Magic guard Jameer Nelson, who finished with 17 points and a team-high eight assists. "No matter who was out there, we just had to keep fighting and play the game we know how to play." West led the Cavs with 21 points off the bench. Antawn Jamison and Mo Williams scored 19 apiece, despite the fact neither played in the fourth quarter. Jamison started by making six of his first seven shots, but went just 2-for-9 the rest of the way. Orlando plays at Indiana on Monday before concluding the regular season at home Wednesday against Philadelphia. The Cavs have one regular-season game left, Wednesday at Atlanta. "We're just trying to get to the playoffs as healthy as possible," Williams said. "We know that come next Saturday or Sunday, we're not going to have to worry about it."