Cavs-Magic:James Clutch Late Again

With the Cleveland Cavaliers (42-11 overall, 23-3 at home) putting a 12-game win streak on the line against the sharpshooting Orlando Magic (36-17 overall, 16-12 on the road), the hype surrounding this game was intense.

From tip-off to the final buzzer, the Quicken Loans Arena was absolutely electric. The red hot Cavaliers proved to be too much for the Magic, walking away with the win at home by a score of 115-106.

The Cavs jumped out to an early double digit lead propelled by the excellent performance of J.J. Hickson. Hickson scored 13 points in the first quarter, finishing with 20 points, 4 rebounds, and a block. The Magic walked off the court after the first quarter facing a 37-23 deficit.

The Magic dominated the second quarter to bring the deficit down to three at halftime. The outstanding shooting performance of Jason Williams, with 10 points in the second quarter, led the Magic to a 40-29 second quarter performance.

In the third quarter, the Magic picked up right where they left off, going on a 15-8 run to take a four point lead.

Many plays contributed to the 9-0 run deep in the fourth quarter that propelled the Cavaliers to a seven point lead with 3:22 left in the game.

LeBron James, once again, carried his team to the finish line with 7 points and an assist in four trips down the floor to build the lead to 14. This proved to be vital in the Cavaliers' 13th consecutive victory. James finished with 32 points, 8 rebounds, and 13 assists capping off his 20th double-double this season.

High scorers for the Magic were Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis with 19 points apiece. Vince Carter contributed 14 points to the losing effort, as well as 13 points chipped in by Jameer Nelson.

Anderson Varejao stepped up, coming off the bench to score 16 points along with Daniel Gibson's 11 point night.

The Cavs have a week long break until they host the Denver Nuggets on Feb. 18th, and then travel to play the Charlotte Bobcats Feb. 19. The Magic don't play again until Feb. 17, when they host the Detroit Pistons. They also host the Dallas Mavericks on Feb. 19.