National Basketball Association

LeBron James, J.R. Smith lift Cleveland Cavaliers past Orlando Magic

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Cleveland Cavaliers escaped another comeback attempt, this time from the Orlando Magic.

The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Orlando Magic 105-99 for their 15th straight victory over the NBA’s most successful expansion franchise.

While the beginning of the game was wrought with excitement, the ending had Cleveland fans biting their nails down to the very end. After jumping out to an early 64-45 lead in the first half, the Orlando Magic crafted a masterful comeback attempt in the fourth as the Cavs left their foot off the gas pedal.

Saturday’s night contest started with poster-worthy content. Early in the first quarter, the Magic had the early lead. LeBron James blew past Orlando Magic guard Evan Fournier for a filthy dunk that left Nikola Vucevic on the wrong side of a slam. The Cavs would never trail for the rest of the game.

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— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) October 29, 2016

Kyrie Irving was once again wondrous offensively in one-on-one situations but a big part of Cleveland’s first half dominance can be attributed to the game that J.R. Smith had. After being 4-15 from three-point range in the first two games, he went 5-11 from the field and 4-10 from the three against the Magic. The lone shot he converted from within the arc was a glorious putback dunk with 6 minutes and 20 seconds left in the first quarter.

As the Orlando Magic centered their offensive attack around Serge Ibaka and Jeff Green in the first half, they found themselves constantly rebuffed by the Cavs improved defense. What’s more, Ibaka and Green were two of the most inconsistent performers in the NBA last season. Once the Magic leaned on Vucevic to be a scorer more than a facilitator they received consistent contributions inside.

In the fourth quarter, the Magic used lineups that were their best opportunity to take advantage of the Cavs defense physically.

Elfrid Payton and D.J. Augustin manned the two guard positions. Mario Hezonja (who was subbed out for Payton with 7 minutes and 16 seconds left in the fourth), Fournier and Green were at the two forward positions. Bismack Biyombo was at center until he was subbed out for Ibaka with 4 minutes and 15 seconds left in the fourth.

With these lineups, the Magic had a pace-and-space attack that they used to come storming back from a 62-80 deficit at the start of the fourth quarter. When Smith hit his final three-pointer with 31 seconds left in regulation, the Magic had just closed the gap to a three point lead. The score was 95-98 and the Magic, if Smith misses that shot, have a real shot to win the game.

Luckily, he didn’t.

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— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) October 30, 2016

The Cavs almost let another game fall through their hands in a trend that the team has to hope ends soon. While the reigning NBA champions have shown that they’re better than last year, teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder should provide a cautionary tale for teams that make a habit of letting games get close at the end.

The trend ultimately doomed the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals last year as they fell to the Golden State Warriors in seven games. Largely due to their inability to shut the Warriors out when they had a big lead.

It’s only three games into the season but the Cavs have a lot to like what they’re seeing from the team. They also have at least one thing that needs fixing.

What did you think of the Cleveland Cavaliers performance against the Orlando Magic? Let us know in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA. Don’t forget to follow @KJG_NBA for live coverage of Cavs games,