Cavs embarrassed by Magic
ORLANDO, Fla. — Jonathon Simmons scored 22 of his careerhigh 34 points in the third quarter and the Orlando Magic overcame a 21-point deficit Tuesday night to beat the reeling Cleveland Cavaliers, 116-98.
The Cavaliers scored 43 points in the first quarter, but then went almost 6 minutes without scoring in the fourth and lost for the 14th time in 21 games. They played the second half without coach Tyronn Lue, who went to the locker room in the second quarter with what the team said was an illness.
The Magic made their first 10 shots of the second half and won consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 8-10.
LeBron James had 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for the Cavaliers, but did not have a rebound or an assist in a foul-plagued second half. snapping Boston’s fourgame winning streak. DeMar DeRozan added 15 points, Delon Wright had 14 and Fred VanVleet 10 as Toronto won its fifth straight home meeting over Boston, closing to within a game of the conference-leading Celtics. Kyrie Irving returned after missing the previous three games because of a bruised right quad to score 17 points in 22 minutes. Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 23 points, jumping over Tim Hardaway Jr. for one high-flying slam, and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the New York Knicks in a game that featured a knee injury to Kristaps Porzingis. Porzingis was injured after crashing to the ground following a successful dunk with 8:46 left in the second quarter. The Knicks announced that he had a left knee injury and was undergoing further evaluation.
The Los Angeles Lakers have been fined $50,000 for violating the NBA’s tampering rule again. League officials made the announcement Tuesday in response to an interview team president Earvin “Magic” Johnson did with ESPN. Johnson was discussing the skills of Milwaukee star Giannis Antetokounmpo and said the Greek native would put the Bucks “on the map” and bring them an NBA title. It’s the third time in less than 12 months the Lakers have been disciplined for tampering.