Cavaliers beat Magic 115-106 to equal franchise mark with 13th straight win

Cavs beat Magic 115-106 for 13th straight victory

CLEVELAND — LeBron James had 32 points and 13 assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers matched their franchise record by winning their 13th straight game with a 115-106 victory over the Orlando Magic on Thursday night in a rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference finals.

Both teams are again on top of the East this year, but Cleveland has won both head-to-head meetings.

As he has done all season, James again closed out another opponent late in the game, scoring seven points in the final three minutes. Orlando went scoreless for five minutes in the fourth as Cleveland turned a two-point deficit into a 105-98 lead.

The anticipated matchup between Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard never really materialized because both were in foul trouble throughout. Fouls were a problem for both teams as they combined for 43 fouls and 56 free throws.

With O’Neal on the bench most of the night, the Cavaliers again relied on James. And as usual, he delivered.

James hit a deep jumper from just inside the 3-point line to give the Cavaliers a 105-96 lead, then followed it up with a 3-pointer and another jumper to put the game out of reach. James also had eight rebounds, falling two shy of his third triple-double this season.

Orlando, playing for the fourth time in five nights, had won nine of its last 11.

J.J. Hickson had 20 points, Anderson Varejao had 16 off the bench and O’Neal had 10 points and six rebounds in just 19 minutes.

Howard, who also struggled with fouls in the first meeting against Cleveland this season, had 19 points and 11 rebounds for Orlando. Rashard Lewis added 19 points, Vince Carter had 14 and Jameer Nelson had 13.

Cleveland can set a record for consecutive wins next week when it hosts Denver on Thursday following the All-Star break.

NOTES: Guard Delonte West returned to Cleveland’s lineup after missing nine games with a broken left ring finger. … Cleveland’s Leon Powe passed a number of physical tests this week and appears to be on pace to return shortly after the All-Star break. Powe had microfracture and ACL surgery on his knee over the summer. … Orlando’s Lewis was suspended for the first meeting in November. He averaged 18.3 points in the conference finals.