CLEVELAND _ The Cleveland Cavaliers came out sluggish and never really recovered in an 114-93 blowout loss to the Orlando Magic Saturday night at Quicken Loans Arena.
Playing the second game of a back-to-back for the first time this season, the Cavs lumbered through an ice-cold first quarter and never truly challenged the Magic again. The Cavs entered the night having won their last 17 meetings against the Magic, the longest streak over another team in franchise history and the longest active streak between any two teams in the NBA.
But the Cavs (2-1) plodded through a dismal first quarter in which the Magic opened with an 8-0 run and led by scores of 18-4, 30-10 and finally 36-18 to end first 12 minutes.
The Cavs in the first quarter were just 8-for-26 (30.8 percent) from the floor and 0-for-5 from 3-point range, while the Magic torched them for eight 3-pointers on 13 attempts. LeBron James kept the Cavs within striking distance with 14 first-quarter points.
Instead of cruising to yet another win over the Magic, the Cavs found themselves down 18 and getting blown out on their home court.
The Magic (2-1) pushed their lead to 22 points (42-20) early in the second quarter before the Cavs started to chip away, eventually halving it by halftime to trail 56-45. Kevin Love led the charge in second quarter, pouring in 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting.
Jose Calderon started the game at point guard in place of Derrick Rose, who sprained his ankle in Friday night's win in Milwaukee, but Calderon didn't last long as the Cavs offense came out sluggish.
After another rough start to a quarter, the Cavs showed some signs of life midway through the third, but it was short-lived. James pulled off a chase-down block on D.J. Augustin and Dwyane Wade quickly hit a 3-pointer to bring the Cavs to within 7 at 65-58. Wade sarcastically put both arms up and looked to the sky, as that was his first made shot of the night after starting 0-for-6, many of them on open looks.
But that momentum was quickly reversed. The Magic responded by going on a 14-0 run, extending their lead to 79-58 and later 86-62 in the final minute of the third quarter, effectively putting the game out of reach. The Magic's high-water mark was 37 points (106-69) in the fourth.
Orlando's Nikola Vucevic finished with a game-high 23 points on 11-of-16 shooting to go with seven rebounds and five assists. Augustin recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists.
James paced the Cavs with 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting, four rebounds and two assists. Love added 19 points but went 0-for-5 from 3-point range. But those two, Wade and others essentially received the fourth quarter off with the game well in hand.
Iman Shumpert finished with 21 points, though most of it came in garbage time.
