ORLANDO, Fla. _ Orlando Magic coach Steve Clifford said with 13 games left in the regular season, his team needed to play with purpose and urgency Thursday against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Mission accomplished.
Aaron Gordon finished with 21 points and D.J. Augustin had 20 as the Magic rolled to a 120-91 victory over the Cavs at Amway Center.
Nikola Vucevic finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds for his 51st double-double of the season, Terrence Ross had 14 points, and reserve center Khem Birch had a season-high 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Magic.
The Magic (32-38) ended a two-game losing streak and regained some of the momentum depleted when they lost four times in their previous five games.
They pulled with 1{ games of the Miami Heat for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference. The Heat were idle Thursday night, but return to action Friday against the conference-leading Milwaukee Bucks.
The Magic used a first-quarter burst to take control as they split the season series with the Cavs 2-2.
Vucevic was at the center of the 21-6 run with nine points. He finished with 13 in the quarter as the Magic went on to shoot 57.7 percent from the field and put up 36 points in building a 16-point lead.
Vucevic is now 22 for 31 from the field the past two games against the Cavs.
The Magic scored the first eight points of the second quarter to push their lead to 24. The Cavs never got closer than 16 the rest of the way.
The Magic led by as many as 32 at one point.
After splitting back-to-back games at Washington and at home against Cleveland, Orlando is idle until it hosts Atlanta (24-45) Sunday.
