Written by Jesse Lamovsky

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The Cavaliers didn’t need Kyrie Irving to be big to win big Saturday night in Orlando. Kyrie’s supporting cast stepped up, particularly the bench, as Cleveland dominated the failing Magicians 118-94 in Confederated Products Arena. The win was the second in a row for the Cavaliers, who are now 18-37; Orlando is a miserable 15-41 after its fifth consecutive loss.

It wasn’t as if Kyrie didn’t play well. He did, notching nine assists against just turnover. On this night, however, he traded his scoring punch for floor leadership, getting his teammates involved and running Cleveland’s offense with smooth precision. He took just nine shots and scored 12, one of seven Cavaliers to score in double figures.

One of those seven was Tyler Zeller, who is showing signs of pulling out of the death spiral he’d been in prior to the All-Star Break. After being worked over by Orlando’s front line two weeks ago up in Cleveland, Zeller gave some back with an impressive performance: 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting to go with 7 rebounds (6 on the offensive end) and a refreshing dose of tough, physical play. His 12-point third quarter was a major reason why the Cavaliers were able to break the game open after being tied at intermission.

Zeller wasn’t the only starter not named Kyrie Irving to play well. Alonzo Gee poured in 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting and was at the receiving end of two spectacular alley-oop feeds from Kyrie. Dion Waiters didn’t shoot well (5-of-16) but chipped in with 4 assists and 4 rebounds, didn’t commit a turnover and played a solid all-around game.

But the biggest factor in the victory was Cleveland’s bench. Marreese Speights, Wayne Ellington and C.J. Miles combined for 49 points and helped put the game away at the beginning of the fourth quarter, when the Cavaliers turned a seven-point lead into a rout. Cleveland scored 39 points in the final period and Kyrie Irving, Mr. Fourth Quarter himself, didn’t even have to leave the bench in the process. Every member of the squad scored- even Kevin Jones, who tallied four points.

The Cavaliers dominated the final statistics as well as the final score. They hammered the Magicians 47-36 on the boards (after being dominated on the glass by Orlando two weeks ago), shot 49.4 percent from the field, hit 23-of-28 from the foul line and passed out 28 assists with 10 turnovers. Cleveland has committed just 18 turnovers in the last two games, a welcome bit of efficient play from a team that was anything but at the beginning of the season.

But improvement has been the story of this season. The Cavaliers have won as many games in the last fifteen as they won in the first forty. After starting out 9-31 they’re now 18-37. Kyrie is turning into a bona-fide superstar, Tristan Thompson has gotten an order of magnitude better and the two rookies both look like legitimate NBA players. Feel free to feel excited about the way this team is playing now and the way it could play down the road.

Next: Oh, it’s about to get a whole lot tougher. Sunday evening at 6:00 the Cavaliers head down to Miami to take on the Heat who, along with LeBron James, are on a higher plane right now. Miami’s 114-90 win at Philadelphia Saturday night was its tenth in a row. The Heat went 4-0 on its road trip, winning all four by double digits- three of those over playoff-bound Oklahoma City, Atlanta and Chicago teams. And LeBron has been ridiculous of late, playing the most ruthlessly efficient basketball of his career (Over 50 percent shooting in 18 of his last 19 games, including the last 12 in a row.)   

It’s going to be a hell of a test for the young Cavaliers. They actually have a chance to keep this game close- the Heat will be back home for the first time after a road trip, traditionally a let-down game in the NBA, and might be a little flat with an under .500 team in town. The only way Cleveland can truly lose is by getting blown out. This is a year for moral victories if there ever was one, and a competitive loss in Miami will be definitely that with the way the Heat are playing right now.