Orlando Magic could not handle the Cleveland Cavaliers as the Cavs defeat the Magic by the final score of 116-104.
The Magic started the game off the game going back and forth with the Cavs in the first quarter and even had the lead by one at the of the quarter but in the second quarter was a different story. LeBron James who is the best player on the planet showed off his passing skills as he was throwing dime after dime to get open threes. James tallied eight assists for the half, 13 for the game.
That opened the game for the Cavs and spread the Magic’s defense around all over the place and kept giving up three after three. The Magic gave up 35 points in the second quarter and allowed the Cavs to go on an 18-9 run to start the second as well. Orlando Magic head Coach Frank Vogel on how LeBron was dissecting their defensive game plan.
“You got the best player in the world and the best passer in the world [LeBron James],” Vogel said. “Able to attack and just pick his targets. He’s got three point shooters surrounding him all night and it’s a difficult challenge. It’s why there one of the best offenses in the game and you got Kyrie out there doing his thing.”
James also had an all-round stellar performance as he had 24 points, 13 assists, and 12 rebounds as he has had back to back games with a triple double.
The Magic did have their shots but they were not going down. The Magic shot just 39.6% from the field and only 4-21 (19%) from the three point line. Coach Vogel on how disappointing it is from his perspective to not see those shots go down.
“It’s disappointing, it’s not really frustrating for me,” Vogel said. “I worry about the quality of our shots. We’re not going to make shots, it’s a game of basketball. It’s a make or miss league. I thought most of them were great looks. A couple of them were a little bit rushed but I want our good shooters having confidence to shoot those shots. We got to shoot a better percentage than 19% obviously to beat a team like Cleveland.”
One standout performer for the Magic was Nikola Vucevic who came back from missing a couple of games due to injury and scored 20 points on 9-20 shooting and also grabbed 16 rebounds as well.
With this tough loss, the Magic fall to 24-43 on the season and will be heading out west for a three game road trip where they will play the Kings, Warriors and the Suns respectively.
