Cleveland Cavaliers: Takeaways from heart-breaking L to Orlando Magic

The Cleveland Cavaliers fought hard, but they couldn’t come away with the win as the Orlando Magic took this one 102-100 thanks to a buzzer-beater from Evan Fournier.

This is one the Cleveland Cavaliers should have had. The Cavs started the game off shaky as they fell behind by 11 in the first half. The Cavaliers turned it around, though, by putting up their best quarter of the season, as they outscored Orlando 32-12 in that frame.

The Cavs continued their solid play in the fourth quarter and appeared like they were going to come away with their first road win of the season. J.R. Smith capped off his terrific night by sinking what appeared to be the game-clinching three-pointer that put Cleveland up by five with 42 seconds left to play.

Everything went down hill after that three. Aaron Gordon responded with a turnaround jumper to cut the lead to three with 23 seconds to play. Cedi Osman inexplicably turned the ball over the following possession by trying to force a pass to Jordan Clarkson that wasn’t there. D.J. Augustin was fouled on the play and made both free throws.

The Cavs then turned the ball over on the following in-bounds and fouled Evan Fournier in the process. Fournier split the free-throws, making it a tie game with 13 seconds left to play. George Hill missed a floater with 1.8 seconds left to play, giving Orlando one last chance. Fournier then hit the game-winner on the ensuing in-bound. Simply put, the Cavs had multiple chances to close this one out but they couldn’t.

George Hill led the way for the Cavs with 22 points on 10-of-12 shooting with four assists and four steals. Tristan Thompson had his most impressive game of the year as he finished with 19 points and 16 rebounds. Smith and Jordan Clarkson both provided a spark off the bench as they finished with 14 points apiece.

On the other end of the coin, Cedi Osman looked solid, but this is a game he’d like to forget. Besides a costly turnover late, Osman struggled to find his shot as he went just one-of-nine from three as he finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Collin Sexton provided five points and two assists in just over 16 minutes of play.

Here’s what we learned from another tough loss.