Orlando vs Cleveland Odds & Prediction

The Cleveland Cavaliers look to put an end to the daily drama around the team on and off the court and notch a third straight victory when they host the struggling Orlando Magic on Tuesday night. The Cavaliers edged Indiana 135-130 in double overtime on Sunday, but much of the talk afterward was about the verbal confrontation between LeBron James and Tristan Thompson over a blown defensive assignment.

James, who had a triple-double with 41 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists Sunday, told reporters he apologized to Thompson and said, “I had good intentions but I was a little bit too demonstrative at that point in the game. I can’t show up my teammates, that’s for sure.” Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue told reporters there’s no problem: “Paul George makes a tough shot, they get into it. That’s part of the game.” The Cavaliers, who trail first-place Boston by one-half game in the East and visit the Celtics on Wednesday, were 6-10 to start the month of March before winning the last two and the Magic have lost four straight to plummet into 14th in the conference. Orlando had won three of four contests before allowing 120.8 per game over the last four outings and dropped 16 straight against Cleveland.

ABOUT THE MAGIC (27-50): Orlando played back-to-back solid games in losses to Oklahoma City (114-106) and Boston (117-116) before allowing 53.2 percent shooting in a 10-point loss at league-worst Brooklyn on Saturday. Leading scorer Evan Fournier (17.1) is averaging 21 points over the last four games, Nikola Vucevic scored 27 on Saturday and Aaron Gordon registered 54 points combined in the last two contests. The Magic waived guard C.J. Wilcox before signing swingmen Patricio Garino and Marcus Georges-Hunt for the rest of the season.

ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (49-27): James is averaging 33.7 points, 11.7 rebounds and 8.3 assists over the last three contests and Kevin Love boasts double-doubles in the last two for Cleveland, which can reach 50 wins for the third straight season. Guard Kyrie Irving, who is second behind James (26.3) on the team in scoring at 25.1 per game, shot 35 percent from the field or worse in four of the last five contests. Guard JR Smith picked up his production level in the last three games after scoring 18 on Sunday and is 14-of-25 from 3-point range in the same span.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Orlando PG Elfrid Payton is averaging 16.2 points – 3.6 above his season mark – and 10.8 assists over the last four contests.

2. Cleveland SG Kyle Korver, averaging 10.9 points, could potentially return to the lineup after missing the last four games with a foot injury.

3. The Cavaliers won the first two meetings this season by an average of nine points, including a 116-104 triumph at Orlando on March 11.