LeBron James scored 29 points, while Kevin Love added 22 as the Cleveland Cavaliers ripped Orlando 98-89 on Friday.
James, a four-time NBA Most Valuable Player who left Miami last July to rejoin the Cavaliers, scored 15 points in the fourth quarter.
Love sat out the entire final period as Cleveland snapped a three-game road losing streak. The Cavaliers improved to 18-11, fifth in the Eastern Conference, while the Magic fell to 11-21, 12th in the East, with a seventh loss in nine games.
Dion Waiters came off the bench to score 17 points for the Cavaliers, who started Australian guard Matthew Dellavedova in place of compatriot Kyrie Irving, who did not play because of a bruised left knee.
Irving aggravated the injury on Thursday in Cleveland’s loss at Miami in James’s first game in front of the fans he delighted with four consecutive trips to the NBA Finals, two of them producing crowns.
© Sapa – AFP
