Irving sets up Cavs’ victory

Associated Press

ORLANDO, Fla.

Kyrie Irving has proven multiple times this season that he can be an unrelenting scorer when he needs to be.

Against the Magic, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ young point guard showed he can also do some damage when he’s creating opportunities for his teammates.

Marreese Speights scored 18 points, Alonzo Gee added 17 and the Cavaliers used a big fourth quarter to run past the Magic 118-94 on Saturday night.

Irving chipped in with 12 points, but had a game-high nine assists in just three quarters of work for Cleveland, which has won two straight overall and snapped a six-game losing streak in Orlando.

“Coming out in the second half we knew the things we needed to do, especially on the defensive end,” Irving said. “That has to be our identity, first and foremost. Our defense has to lead to our offense and that’s what he did.”

Arron Afflalo scored 16 points for the Magic in their first home game since a trade deadline deal last week that saw the departure of four players, including sixth man J.J. Redick. Two of their three new additions, Tobias Harris and Beno Udrih, finished in double figures with 14 and 10 points, respectively.

Orlando has lost five consecutive games and 28 of its last 31 as it dives deeper into its rebuilding process.

“It’s definitely going to take a little time,” Magic forward Maurice Harkless said. “I think [the new players will] get it quick, especially since we’re all young, so we get to help them. The way they played today, they played pretty well for their first game so it’ll all get better.”

The Cavaliers scored the first eight points of the final period to push their lead to 15. The Magic got it down to 11 before another 8-0 spurt made it 95-76 with less than 8 minutes to play.

Cleveland maintained its cushion down the stretch, allowing Irving and the rest of the starting five to sit out the entire fourth quarter. Still, the Cavaliers outscored Orlando 39-22 in the period.