Cleveland ditches the drama and feels the Love

CLEVELAND - The defense was tenacious. The offense flowed like it hasn't in months, with crisp ball movement leading to a deadly volley of 3-pointers that lit up the scoreboard.

For 12 glorious minutes on Tuesday night, the Cavaliers were themselves again. Everything was in place.

No drama, no disagreements.

"That's us," Kevin Love said.

LeBron James notched his second straight triple-double, Love scored 28 and Cleveland warmed up for a big game in Boston by dropping 18 3-pointers in a 122-102 win over the Orlando Magic.

Kyrie Irving added 24 points and JR Smith 19 for the Cavs, who made nine 3s and scored 43 in a dazzling third quarter to turn a tight game into a blowout and beat Orlando for the 17th straight time.

There were no on-court issues following Sunday's emotional and exhausting, double-overtime victory as the defending champions moved into a tie with the Celtics atop the Eastern Conference.

The teams meet on Wednesday in a battle for first place and temporary ownership of the top seed and home-court advantage until the NBA Finals.

As regular-season games go, it's significant. James, though, isn't making too much of the matchup.

"Their crowd is going to be great and it's a very good team we're going to be playing against," he said.

"They've been playing some great ball, but I'm not one to get caught up in the regular season. I'm sorry. I've been to six straight Finals, man. I'm the last person to ask about a regular-season game."

Evan Fournier scored 21 for Orlando, which has lost five in a row and six of seven.

The Magic led by two at halftime, but were simply overwhelmed in the third when the Cavs put it all together.

"Nobody can survive that," Magic coach Frank Vogel said. "The bottom line is you have to bring help to elite players. Kyrie and LeBron had 13 assists in that quarter.

"That triggers their championship-level ball movement. That's why they're champs. They were at their best in that quarter. Too much for us."

The Cavs became the third team in league history to reach 1,000 3s in a season, joining Golden State (1,077 last season) and Houston, which has dropped 1,109 this season.

Focusing on their defense, the Cavs got some early stops and came out firing - from deep - in the third to quickly spin the game in their favor.

Smith has rediscovered his shooting touch after missing 36 games following thumb surgery.

The 31-year-old made four 3s in the first 3:12 and Cleveland started 6 of 7 on 3s, with James getting assists on five of them.

"When we get out and run and play with pace, nobody can beat us and we know that," Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said.

James finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists before checking out with 5:11 left.

On Sunday, he apologized for an argument with center Tristan Thompson, a flare-up that raised questions about the Cavs' chemistry.

The mood was much more upbeat after Cleveland's third straight win, with James saying he's feeling good about his team.

"I like everything," he said. "I love my brothers."

'Soap opera'

After going 7-10 in March, when they played 12 road games, the Cavs are 3-0 in April. Lue was asked if he feels better than he did a week ago.

"I feel good about this team all the time," he said.

"It's like a soap opera, but I love this team. We know what we're capable of doing."

The Cavs have had more than their share injuries and off-the-floor intrigue, which has kept things interesting, to say the least.

"It's just who we are," Lue said. "We love the drama."

Associated Press

Cleveland Cavaliers' Kevin Love and LeBron James high-five in the second half of their 122-102 triumph over the Orlando Magic in Cleveland on Tuesday. Tony Dejak / Ap