Orlando Magic at Cleveland Cavaliers, Game 2
Well, we might have a good series in the Eastern Conference Finals after all.
That’s what the Orlando Magic seemed to say with that shocking Game 1 win in Cleveland on Wednesday night. The Cavs had lost just once all season at home when actually trying – the other loss was when every starter sat on the final night of the regular season.
LeBron James was stellar in Game 1 with a game-high 49 points, hitting 20-of-30 shots. But his teammates were not so hot, just 23-of-58 from the field. Thus the Cavs face their first must-win of the year.
“You don’t want to go down 0-2 going into somebody else’s building, so we need to even it up [tonight],” James said.
And the Cavs are 9-point favorites for Game 2 on WagerWeb.com.
Yet Cleveland’s Mo Williams didn’t sound as worried, saying, “I don’t see them beating us four times.”
Still, Williams took the blame for the Game 1 loss. He had 17 points, second most on the Cavs. But he was 6-of-19 shooting and just 2-for-7 with no assists in the second half as the Magic rallied from a 15-point hole.
“I have to take the pressure off [LeBron],” he said. “I’m looking at the stats and I’m looking at Dwight and I’m looking at Rashard and I’m looking at Hedo and those guys were terrific. And I look at myself.”
Williams is shooting 42 percent in the postseason after hitting 47 percent in the regular season, and his 3-point percentage is down about nine points.
Dwight Howard was great for the Magic, but the real star might have been Rashard Lewis. He hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 14.7 seconds left. Howard scored 30 points and had 13 rebounds, but the winning shot by Lewis came after Howard fouled out.
Lewis also had given the Magic a 104-103 lead with another jumper, and outscored James in the fourth period, 12-10, making all five of his shots. The Magic shot 59 percent from the field in the second half on Wednesday.
Orlando is now 9-3 in its past 12 games against Cleveland, 3-1 this season and 4-1 in the past five in Cleveland.
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