ORLANDO, Fla. _ The team the Orlando Magic put on the floor Tuesday night at Amway Center might be much different from the team the Magic field Thursday night at Amway Center.
This season's NBA trade deadline looms at mid-afternoon Thursday, and with the Magic in the sixth year of a rebuilding project that has no end in sight, new team executives Jeff Weltman and John Hammond might radically remake the roster if deals are available to be made.
So it's possible that Tuesday's game was the final game for one or more members of the Magic's nucleus _ a nucleus that includes Evan Fournier, Mario Hezonja, Elfrid Payton and injured players Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic.
And if Tuesday indeed will be remembered as the end of an era for anyone, it was a glorious end.
The Magic overcame a 21-point second-quarter deficit, played superbly in the second half and defeated the slumping Cleveland Cavaliers, 116-98, in front of announced sellout crowd of 18,846.
Magic swingman Jonathon Simmons scored 22 of his career-high 34 points in the third quarter to spark the comeback.
The comeback was tied for the Magic's sixth-largest in franchise history.
The Magic hadn't beaten the Cavaliers in Orlando since Nov. 23, 2012, when LeBron James was playing for the Miami Heat.
On Tuesday, however, not even James could snap the Cavaliers out of their maddening funk. He scored 25 points, collected 10 rebounds and dished out five assists.
The Cavaliers (30-22) dominated the Magic (17-36) early.
J.R. Smith set the tone by sinking corner 3-pointers on Cleveland's first two possessions, and Cleveland scored 43 first-quarter points, the highest point total in any quarter by an Orlando opponent this season.
Cleveland led by as many as 21 points, 59-38 and 61-40, midway through the second quarter.
The game's tenor changed early in the third quarter.
Down 75-59, the Magic went on a 19-2 run.
The outburst ended when Simmons sank a pair of foul shots that put Orlando ahead 78-77 with 5:33 remaining in the third quarter _ Orlando's first lead of the game.
The Magic made their first 10 shots of the third quarter.
And Simmons inflicted most of the damage. He scored 22 points in the period, including a 3-pointer from the top of the arc just as the buzzer sounded that gave Orlando a 92-89 lead.
Orlando outscored Cleveland 41-22 during the quarter.
The Cavaliers, who have lost three of their last four games, played most of the game without coach Tyronn Lue.
Accompanied by an athletic trainer, Lue left the court during a timeout early in the second quarter and remained in the Cavaliers' locker room the remainder of the game. A Cavaliers spokesman said Lue was ill.
With the score tied 92-92, the Magic scored the game's next 16 points and took a 108-92 lead with 4:51 to play.
The Magic's run was already well underway when the Cavaliers' Isaiah Thomas attempted a 3-pointer from the right corner and his shot clanked off the side of the backboard.
Shelvin Mack collected the rebound.
Seconds later Fournier tripped and fell backward just before a teammate threw him a pass. With his back on Amway Center's parquet floor, Fournier caught the ball and passed to a teammate, and his Magic teammates _ who were already standing in their bench area _ broke out in smiles. Seconds later, D.J. Augustin scored on a driving layup, extending the Magic's lead to 104-92.
The Magic were playing on the second night of a back-to-back, and they seemed far more energetic than the better-rested Cavaliers.
Coupled with their victory Monday in Miami, the Magic have won two games in a row _ their first two-game winning streak since they followed a win on Nov. 8 with a victory on Nov. 10.
