LeBron leads Cavs past Magic, joins Robertson on elite list
CLEVELAND (AP) LeBron James joined Oscar Robertson on an exclusive NBA list and Kevin Love scored a season-high 34 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers remained unbeaten at home with a 117-103 win over the Orlando Magic on Monday night.
James had 15 points and 13 assists and joined Robertson, the legendary ''Big O,'' as the only players in league history to rank in the top 25 in career points and assists.
With his fifth assist, James moved past Norm Nixon (6,386) into 25th place and moved alongside Robertson, who finished his Hall of Fame career with 26,710 points and 9,887 assists. James will soon eclipse Robertson's scoring total and the unselfish superstar is a good bet to pass the guard on the assist list as well.
Love scored 27 in the first half for the Cavs, now 8-0 at home and an Eastern Conference-leading 11-3.
Andrew Nicholson scored 18 and Evan Fournier had 13 points for the Magic. Orlando has dropped 11 straight to Cleveland.
James entered the game needing 21 points to surpass Reggie Miller (25,279) for 18th place on the career scoring list. While he didn't quite catch Miller, he moved into the company of Robertson, a triple-double machine during his playing days.
J.R. Smith scored a season-high 26 and Matthew Dellavedova, starting in place of injured Mo Williams, added 15 for Cleveland.
The Cavs made a season-high 18 3-pointers in 35 attempts.
James passed Nixon with five minutes left in the second quarter, when he drove the lane and flicked a pass into the right corner to Love, who knocked down one of his six 3-pointers.
It was Love, with some help from James, who brought Cleveland back with a one-man scoring spree in the second quarter.
With the Cavs down 42-34 after squandering a 12-point lead, Love made three 3-pointers and scored 17 straight points over a 5:20 span. He capped his outburst with a 3-pointer with 27 seconds left - off another dish by James - to give the Cavs a 59-55 halftime lead.
The Cavs came out firing in the third, making three early 3-pointers to push their lead to double digits and pull away from the Magic, who were outscored 33-20 in the third.
James, who began the season with a worrisome back problem, took a hard hit from Orlando's Victor Oladipo as he tried to make a layup in the first quarter. James crashed to the floor on his backside and sat there for a moment before refusing Oladipo's offer to help him to his feet.
TIP-INS
Magic: Oladipo made the game's wildest shot, driving into the lane in the second quarter and blindly flipping the ball over his head, off the backboard and into the basket. ... Orlando had held seven of its past eight opponents under 100 points. ... Talk about flipping the script: The Magic beat the Cavs 10 consecutive times before Cleveland began its current run against Orlando.
Cavaliers: Tristan Thompson had 14 rebounds. ... The Cavs have made at least 11 3-pointers in six of their last seven games. They came in averaging 9.6 treys per game. ... Cleveland is 28-1 in the regular season at home since Jan. 19. ... The Cavs had just one turnover in the second half.
UP NEXT
Magic: Host New York on Wednesday.
Cavaliers: Visit Toronto on Wednesday.
---
This story corrects first paragraph to 34 points for Love instead of 35.