Orlando and Cleveland square off in conference battle
Cleveland Cavaliers (17-51, 14th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Orlando Magic (31-38, ninth in the Eastern Conference)
Orlando; Thursday, 7 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Eastern Conference foes Orlando and Cleveland will play at the Amway Center.
The Magic are 21-20 against Eastern Conference opponents. Orlando is fifth in the league allowing 106.7 points per game and holding opponents to 45.4 percent shooting.
The Cavaliers have gone 13-33 against Eastern Conference opponents. Cleveland is 5-3 in games decided by 3 points or fewer. The Cavaliers won the last meeting between these two squads 107-93 on March 3. Jordan Clarkson led Cleveland to the win with a 18-point performance.
TOP PERFORMERS: Nikola Vucevic is scoring 20.6 points per game and averaging 12.0 rebounds for the Magic. D.J. Augustin is shooting 49.2 percent and averaging 12 points over the last 10 games for Orlando.
Matthew Dellavedova leads the Cavaliers averaging 4.2 assists while scoring 7.3 points per game. Collin Sexton has averaged 18.7 points and 2.4 rebounds while shooting 42.7 percent over the last 10 games for Cleveland.
LAST 10 GAMES: Cavaliers: 5-5, averaging 110 points, 42.3 rebounds, 23.2 assists, 6.9 steals and 2.1 blocks per game while shooting 43.9 percent from the field. Their opponents have averaged 111.4 points on 49.0 percent shooting.
Magic: 4-6, averaging 104.2 points, 47.4 rebounds, 25.1 assists, 5.2 steals and 5.5 blocks per game while shooting 44.8 percent from the field. Their opponents have averaged 105.6 points on 45.0 percent shooting.
Magic Injuries: Mo Bamba: out (left tibia fracture), Markelle Fultz: out (shoulder/wrist), Isaiah Briscoe: out (knee), Timofey Mozgov: out (knee).
Cavaliers Injuries: Matthew Dellavedova: out (concussion), John Henson: out (wrist), Tristan Thompson: day to day (foot), Larry Nance Jr.: day to day (chest).
