Magic face urgency to end skid vs. rising Cavaliers
James Harden and Donovan Mitchell took turns rescuing the Cavaliers on their three-game road trip, allowing Cleveland to sweep the Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls and New Orleans Pelicans.
Now comfortably sitting in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, Cleveland hosts the slumping Orlando Magic on Tuesday night.
The Cavaliers (44-27) are four games ahead of the fifth-place Toronto Raptors with 11 to play. They trail the New York Knicks by 2 1/2 games for third and the Boston Celtics by three games for second.
Orlando (38-33) virtually is assured of at least a play-in tournament berth but is a mere 1 1/2 games behind the Atlanta Hawks, who sit in sixth place, the last guaranteed playoff position. However, the Magic endured their fifth straight setback on Monday, a 128-126 home loss to the Pacers.
Indiana entered the night riding a franchise-record 16-game losing streak.
"(The Pacers') record is terrible this year, but they've got some talented guys out there and those guys came to play," Orlando forward Paolo Banchero said. "But we don't have time to hang our head because we've got to get back (Tuesday) in Cleveland."
Cleveland pulled out three single-digit victories on its trip, capped by a stellar performance from Harden and Mitchell in a 111-106 triumph at New Orleans on Saturday.
The duo combined for 25 of the Cavaliers' 35 points in the fourth quarter, rallying Cleveland from a 93-78 deficit with 10 minutes remaining. Harden scored 13 points in the period and Mitchell had 12, including a three-point play with 4.2 seconds left.
"It's nice to have two superstars that can make plays -- big plays -- when you need them," Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said. "When it's crunch time or money time, they take over."
Harden failed to score in the first half yet finished with 20 points and 10 assists. Mitchell returned from a one-game absence caused by an eye injury, and he put up a game-high 27 points.
"It's really nice to have two of the best isolation scorers and playmakers in the league," Cavaliers forward Sam Merrill said. "We have trust in Donovan and James that they're going to make the right play."
On the flip side, Cleveland swingman Max Strus committed a flagrant-1 foul on Dejounte Murray with 1:50 to play, continuing his several-year string of making poor decisions at important times.
Murray made all three free throws, but his finger-roll attempt on the subsequent possession rimmed out and kept the Pelicans down by four. He later cut the Cavaliers' lead to two, requiring Mitchell to deliver his clincher off a Harden feed.
"That's a real gut-check win by our veterans," Atkinson said. "With a younger team, it's a game that probably turns into a 25- to 30-point loss, then you head home."
The Magic experienced their low point since the All-Star break in losing to Indiana, which hadn't won since a Feb. 11 decision against the Brooklyn Nets.
Banchero scored a season-high 39 points and had six assists, but his potential game-tying basket was blocked at the rim by Pacers All-Star Pascal Siakam just before the buzzer. Orlando's Desmond Bane produced 17 points, six rebounds and seven assists.
Orlando likely will be without guard Jalen Suggs (illness) for a second game in a row on Tuesday.
"It's tough, not great, losing five in a row," Banchero said. "We just let Indiana be too comfortable on offense. That's just how they play, and we gave in to their style."