Orlando Magic Grades: Cleveland Cavaliers 122, Orlando Magic 102

The Orlando Magic were keeping pace with the Cleveland Cavaliers and then the Cavaliers turned up the pressure in the third quarter behind the arc.

The Orlando Magic had every reason to feel good heading into halftime. The Cleveland Cavaliers were playing sloppy, and the Magic were taking advantage in just about every way. they were hitting shots and fighting through some of their own inconsistencies. LeBron James was doing what he wanted to do, but that was not enough.

For sure, Orlando would need a stellar effort and hope Cleveland did not go nova.

The Cavaliers went nova, making 18 of 36 3-pointers for the game and nine 3-pointers in a 43-point third quarter. Cleveland turned a two-point halftime deficit into a route with little effort as Orlando was incapable of stemming the tide.

This was a championship team waltzing to a 122-102 win over a Lottery-bound team as the Cavaliers won at Quicken Loans Arena on Tuesday.It all seemed inevitable for the Magic even as they fought and scrapped to a lead at halftime and fought to lower the deficit early in the fourth quarter.

It all seemed inevitable for the Magic even as they fought and scrapped to a lead at halftime and fought to lower the deficit early in the fourth quarter.

LeBron James was just too much. He finished with a triple-double of 17 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. He helped rip apart the Magic’s defense as the team had to shift its defense to contain him and Kevin Love, often playing against a mismatch with the team trying to keep Aaron Gordon on James.

Everyone played their part as Cleveland moved the ball unselfishly in that killer third quarter. Orlando simply could not stem the tide and get a basket to answer consistently. And so the deficit continue to grow and grow against them.

The Cavaliers made a lot of tough shots, but the team struggled to close out and left the door open for those 3-pointers. That is what makes Cleveland so dangerous. The Cavaliers have the players to break opponents off the dribble and the shooters to spread the floor and make teams pay for the double teams.

The Magic could never reel the team back in.

G/F. Orlando Magic. EVAN FOURNIER. B. Evan Fournier probably had the toughest assignment of any player on the Orlando Magic roster for Tuesday’s game. With the team electing to use Aaron Gordon to defend LeBron James. Fournier got the call defending the much bigger Kevin Love. He had some trouble early on.But, overall, Fournier turned out OK. He played aggressively and darted over Love to get steals. The Magic had an OK game plan to bring a late double. Fournier had to work to hold his own. And his defense early helped keep the Cavaliers at bay.Fournier did his part offensively too, scoring 21 points on 5-for-12 shooting. Most of that came from beyond the arc off ball reversals. His attacks were less effective. And his defense, strong in the first half in the mismatch, dissipated as the Magic struggled to keep the Cavaliers from penetrating and attacking the Magic defense from the inside out.

C. Where Evan Fournier found some success guarding a bigger player, Nikola Vucevic struggled to give the support he needed. True, Vucevic’s matchup in Tristan Thompson did not score until the third quarter. And also true, the Magic’s perimeter defense struggled again to corral and stop dribble penetration. Vucevic still did not prove to be a backstop — save for a two-play string.Vucevic got caught on screens trying to help with Love and getting out to the 3-point line. Vucevic finished with just six points on 3-for-9 shooting. He did have 10 rebounds.But Vucevic was a non-factor throughout the game. Orlando did not even work him well into pick and pops. Worse still, Thompson pushed Vucevic off his spot and force dVucevic into tougher fadeaways. Some of these were Vucevic’s own doing.. C. Orlando Magic. NIKOLA VUCEVIC

Aaron Gordon had two solid games over the weekend where his jump shot fell and he attacked the basket aggressively. It was the Gordon everyone dreamed of with him and he was the best player on the floor. He got plenty of shots in those games but probably should have gotten more.Monday, playing against LeBron James and Kevin Love, Gordon came back down to earth. He scored only 12 points on 5-for-14 shooting. It is tough to do much with James guarding you. That part is understandable. But Gordon did not have the same composure and aggression attacking the basket in this game. He settled for his jump shot and was often off-balance with it. His attacks were wild and rushed.Defensively, Gordon was OK on James. He held his own but James still got the better of him more often than not. Gordon got beat over the top twice and it hurt the team’s overall chances.. F. Orlando Magic. AARON GORDON. C

Mario Hezonja has experienced a tough year. And at times it has seemed like he has lost a lot of confidence. Frank Vogel has shuttled him between positions trying to figure out the best way to use him. It has been a hard fight, especially with Hezonja missing shots.Hezonja continued a decent run of play at power forward Tuesday, but not in the way anyone could expect. Hezonja was left in the game to guard LeBron James in the fourth quarter and actually held his own. He stripped James on one occasion and challenged his shots well. It was a great outing for Hezonja.And that confidence bled over offensively. He started hitting a few shots — 13 points on 3-for-8 shooting — and made a nice entry pass to Damjan Rudez for a lay in late in the game. He got over confident a bit late, but that is OK. It was good to see Hezonja playing aggressively and making positive plays.. F. Orlando Magic. MARIO HEZONJA. B

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS. B. The Cleveland Cavaliers have been struggling a lot lately, especially on the defensive end. It has everyone wondering if the Cavaliers can turn the switch on for the Playoffs and defend their NBA title. They have already lost the top spot to the Boston Celtics, needing to win to tie before their big matchup in Boston on Wednesday.Safe to say, the Cavaliers can indeed turn the switch on. At least, against a team like the Magic. Their third-quarter barrage was a display of good basketball, driving deep into the lane and kicking out to beat close outs or for open 3-pointers. They were seemingly turning the Magic inside out all game long.The only problem for Cleveland was how sloppy the team looking in the first half. Really any time LeBron James was out of the game, the team looked a bit lost. He has to carry a very heavy burden for this group. And they did not seem particularly engaged. When they became interested in the game, Cleveland ran away with it.. 50-27. 1st East