ORLANDO: Unflappable Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue saw no reason for a team meeting, no point in extra practices or even a team-bonding trip to a bowling alley.
In a 1-4 start to March, he saw injuries piling up, including the shock of Andrew Bogut breaking his leg 58 seconds into his Cavs’ debut. Lue considered a loss at Miami in which LeBron James and Kyrie Irving sat out and even his own illness that forced him to miss a game and three shootarounds.
“It’s been kind of funky,” Lue said Saturday before the Cavs took on the Orlando Magic at Amway Center. “There’s nothing to look into that’s crazy. We’ve got to figure it out and we will.”
As the Cavs snapped a three-game losing streak with a 116-104 victory over the Magic, there were signs the path to greatness is becoming more clear for the defending NBA champions. And there could be more help on the way in the form of a rim protector after this three-game road trip ends Sunday night in Houston.
Even though Kyle Korver sat out his second consecutive game with left foot soreness, the Cavs showed signs of building cohesion on offense and played with more intensity on defense.
Considering the effort, Lue’s biggest point of contention might be the Magic’s 17 points off nine Cavs’ turnovers.
With 24 points, 12 rebounds and 13 assists, James posted his ninth triple-double of the season, a career high, and his 51st overall. James added to that total in back-to-back games.
Irving contributed 22 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, extending his streak of consecutive 20-point games to a career-high 14.
More important, some second-quarter sequences seemed to show that Lue’s patience is paying off.
For example:
• On one Magic trip downcourt, Irving’s defense smothered Elfrid Payton.
• Several snappy passes led to a wide-open 3-pointer by Deron Williams.
• Irving ran partway to a corner tunnel chasing down a loose ball.
• James dished out four assists in the quarter, including a perfect alley oop to Derrick Williams, as James totaled eight assists in the first half.
On Thursday night in Detroit, Irving and James combined for 56 points and needed more help from their supporting cast than just Channing Frye.
They got it Saturday, when seven Cavs scored in double figures and Tristan Thompson chipped in with 14 points and 13 rebounds.
Iman Shumpert’s 10 consecutive points in the first quarter included a 2-pointer from the corner that came off a double spin move. He finished with 15 points, hitting 5-of-7 from the field and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.
Even J.R. Smith started to regain his touch in his second game back following surgery to repair his broken thumb, scoring 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field and 3-of-7 from long range.
Frye continued to provide punch, especially needed with Korver sidelined, scoring 12 points. In the past eight games, he’s hit 14-of-25 from 3-point range.
Irving’s 20-point string didn’t faze James, even as they evenly share the load. Coming into the night, Irving’s streak, which began on Feb. 6, was the second-longest in the league behind Karl-Anthony Towns’ 18.
“Scoring the ball for Kyrie is second nature,” James said at shootaround. “It’s like going to sleep for him. There’s no reason why he shouldn’t score 20 a night. He prepares himself and takes care of his body now at this juncture of his career, after the injuries that he had. He wants to continue to grow. He has to grow not only as a scorer, but as a point guard and as a leader, which he’ll continue to do.”
Irving’s eight assists against the Magic gave him 2,031 and moved him past Brad Daugherty (2,028) into sixth place on the Cavs’ all-time list.
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her blog at www.ohio.com/marla. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.