The Cleveland Cavaliers should be confident after their last couple of outings, even if their last one was a loss. They fell short of a come-from-behind victory over the Boston Celtics, coming back from a 22-point deficit to trail by just two points with under two minutes remaining. The Celtics were able to hold on and gut out the win, but the Cavaliers did take the previous matchup, splitting the home-and-home series. They fought back from an 11-point deficit in the final four minutes of that game to take the win.
Either way, they've got a much tougher game on their hands on Friday, as they hit the road to take on the Orlando Magic. A saving grace? Orlando hasn't been playing anywhere near their best football of late, having lost four games in a row before their last outing, where they finally snapped the streak. They haven't won back-to-back games since they took five in a row in early-to-mid January.
Orlando beat Washington 109-103 on Wednesday to move to 13-9 on the season. They did struggle against the Wizards, with 11 turnovers in the first half, and barely held on to their lead at the end of the game, despite a monster performance from Dwight Howard, who had 23 points and 18 rebounds. It will be an interesting kind of game, with the Magic not exactly oozing confidence and the Cavaliers fighting hard for that elusive .500 record.
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