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Friday, Nov. 5 7:30pm ET
Cavs overcome 12-point deficit in 4th quarter | |||||
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 GAME FLOW
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Shawn Kemp is comfortable with his role in Cleveland's new offense. When he's not scoring, the Cavaliers' up-tempo style provides lots of opportunities for teammates to take up the slack. "It's not my job every night to come in and shoot the lights out for us to win. But it's all our jobs to come in and play the best we can," Kemp said Friday night after the Cavs overcame a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit and his 3-of-14 shooting performance to beat the Orlando Magic 104-99. "I'm patient. You just play the game. Some nights are going to be great. Some night are going to be so-so," he added. "This was a so-so night. But I thought it was a great team victory, the type of game we need for guys to get their confidence going." Brevin Knight and Andre Miller each had 18 points and Cleveland held Orlando scoreless from the field for nearly six minutes down the stretch. Bob Sura's 3-pointer gave the Cavs the lead for good with 2:22 to go, and Knight, Miller and Kemp made four of six free throws in the closing seconds. Randy Wittman, Cleveland's first-year coach, said one of the keys was Kemp not getting frustrated when his shots weren't falling. "That's a sign of a different kind of player. So often we see stars on a team having a tough night and continuing to try to force it," Wittman said. "Shawn went on when he had his opportunities. When they double-teamed him, he popped it out." Orlando, which had three players with 20 or more points, was outscored 28-11 in the final 9:23 to blow a 12-point lead. The Magic went the last 5:56 without a field goal, settling for six free throws. "We got the shots we wanted," Orlando coach Doc Rivers said. "They just didn't go down." Danny Ferry had 16 points, Wesley Person 15 and Sura 13 for the Cavs. Although he shot poorly, Kemp did help the Cavs with 10 rebounds, the last coming with Cleveland clinging to a 101-99 lead. Reserve Chris Gatling led the Magic with 21 points. Darrell Armstrong and Tarik Abdul-Wahad each had 20. Cleveland led 56-49 at the half, despite only getting two points on 1-for-4 shooting from Kemp. Ferry and Person took up the slack, delivering 22 points off the bench to help the Cavs wipe out an early 10-point deficit. "They made a conscious decision to stop Shawn," Ferry said. "If they do that, we have to make them pay." The Magic outscored the Cavs 31-18 in the third quarter, with Armstrong scoring 11 points and the front court continuing to do a good job of defending Kemp. Cleveland trailed 88-76 before going on a 15-5 run to pull within 93-91 with just over four minutes to go. Kemp missed eight straight shots before hitting two layups in the surge. Sura's big 3-pointer put the Cavs ahead 98-97. Ferry increased the lead to three before Knight, Kemp and Miller put the game away from the foul line. Orlando missed three shots and turned the ball over once on its last four possessions. Game notesThe Magic made 12 of 21 shots (57 percent) in the third quarter after shooting just 37 percent (20-for-54) in the opening half. The 31-point quarter was their second-most productive period of the season. ... The up-tempo style of the teams made for a sloppy game. The Magic had 21 turnovers, the Cavs 20. ... Both clubs struggled behind the 3-point line. Cleveland was 5-for-18, Orlando 3-for-13. | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Cleveland Clubhouse Orlando Clubhouse RECAPS Boston 103 Charlotte 100
Cleveland 104
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