The Cavaliers looked as if they were on their way to picking up a needed win Tuesday night against the Magic. And then it all went wrong.
Cleveland led by as many as 21 points and by 16 points at the half before losing by a final score of 116-98. The Cavs trailed 92-89 after three quarters and scored just nine points in the fourth quarter as the Magic took full control of the game. Cleveland shot 3-18 from the field in the final quarter.
In the first quarter, the Cavs tied a season-high by scoring 43 points and led by as many as 15 as a result. But the rest of the way, after getting 29 points from starters not named LeBron James in the opening 12 minutes, the Cavs received next to nothing from the rest of the starters. J.R. Smith, who scored 12 points in the first quarter, was 0-2 in quarters two through four. Isaiah Thomas had another bad performance, finishing with 11 points on 3-13 shooting.
LeBron James led the Cavs with 25 points. Jonathan Simmons led the Magic with 32 points, 22 of which came in the third quarter.
The Cavs next play tomorrow at home against the Timberwolves. Tipoff is at 8 p.m. The NBA’s trade deadline is Thursday at 3 p.m.