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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
CLEVELAND (AP) – Doc Rivers' pregame symptoms included a
pounding headache, fever and stuffed-up sinuses. He only felt worse after watching his Orlando Magic lose to the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers by 23 points.
|  | | Clarence Weatherspoon, right, and the Cavs floored the Magic in a rare laugher. |
Andre Miller's 10 points and eight assists in the first quarter set the tone as the Cavaliers had a rare easy night Tuesday, snapping a seven-game losing streak with a 101-78 win over the playoff-bound Magic.
"If you come in and play like that, you deserve to get your butt kicked," said Rivers, Orlando's second-year coach. "We didn't deserve to be in the building."
Tracy McGrady had 21 points on 8-of-21 shooting for the Magic,
who clinched a postseason berth last week and hadn't played since
Friday. Orlando's starters shot only 17-of-52 from the floor and
seemed like they were counting down the days until the playoffs.
The loss dropped the Magic into seventh place in the Eastern
Conference, a half-game behind Charlotte.
"After you've been crowned for the playoffs, you can't turn it
on and off," Rivers said. "We have to learn that. We're not good
enough to turn it on and off like that. We need to wake up."
Meanwhile, for one of the few times this season, almost everything went right for the Cavs. They shot well, made free throws (34-37) and even rewarded their fans with some free fast food by scoring 100 points.
"It's seems like we've been on the other end of the stick all
year," said Bimbo Coles. "It's nice to blow someone out, to laugh
and enjoy one for a change."
Scoring mostly on layups, Cleveland opened a 35-point lead in
the second quarter and scored a season-high 69 points in the first
half while the Magic stood around.
"We can't get beat like this," said Orlando's Troy Hudson.
"We played like we didn't care."
Lamond Murray had 19 points, Miller finished with 12 assists and
Clarence Weatherspoon grabbed 14 rebounds for the Cavs, who beat
the Magic for the first time in four tries this season.
Cleveland, which hadn't won since March 24, had seven players in
double figures and avenged a loss at Orlando last month in which
the Cavs were down by 36 and lost by 26.
The Cavs nearly had their fans turn on them in the closing
minutes as they zeroed in on 100 points. Cleveland had 98 points
with 3:11 left and missed several shots before finally cracking 100
with 33 seconds left, earning their fans vouchers for free
chalupas.
"The only thing we did well down the stretch was we tried a good prevention of the chalupa," Rivers quipped. "Besides that, we didn't do (much)."
Miller, one of the few bright spots for the Cavs this season,
scored six points and had two assists -- including his eighth of the
period -- during an 18-3 run that helped the Cavs open a 37-19 lead
after one.
Cleveland didn't cool off in the second period, either.
Trajan Langdon made two 3-pointers as Cleveland opened with a
15-4 spurt to take a 52-23 lead. Murray's two free throws gave the
Cavs their largest lead, 69-34, with 1:24 remaining before
halftime.
Although they went just 4-of-20 from the floor in the third
period and scored 12 points, the Cavs still led by 22 after three.
Game notes
With the season winding down, everyone is putting together their awards lists. Wittman said Philadelphia's Larry Brown should
be named the league's top coach. "He transformed that team,"
Wittman said. Rivers, named NBA Coach of the Year in 2000, gives
the nod to Utah's Jerry Sloan over Brown, Minnesota's Flip Saunders
and Miami's Pat Riley. As for rookie of the year, Rivers thinks
Magic forward Mike Miller is the pick. "He's done a lot of things
we didn't expect," Rivers said. "He can rebound and that goes
against everything they said about him." ... Before taking Miller
with the fifth overall pick, Rivers said the club was seriously
considering Cavs center Chris Mihm, taken seventh. "We didn't know which way to go," he said. ... In Miller's last 17 games, he has 170 assists and just 48 turnovers. ... Cleveland's last five home wins have been by an average of 15.6 points.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Orlando Clubhouse
Cleveland Clubhouse
RECAPS
Cleveland 101
Orlando 78
Miami 83
Philadelphia 81
Milwaukee 105
Chicago 84
Denver 100
Houston 99
San Antonio 91
Dallas 79
Portland 116
Golden State 88
Minnesota 104
Vancouver 91
LA Lakers 106
Phoenix 80
Sacramento 116
LA Clippers 109
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