Improving Cavs top Magic

CLEVELAND -- Cleveland Cavaliers coach Byron Scott is happy that his team is winning, but he's far from being overly impressed.

The Cavaliers are 11-11 in their last 22 games since Dec. 22. They have also won three in a row, as well as seven of their last 10.

They snapped a 10-game losing streak to the Orlando Magic on Friday, 119-108, before an announced crowd of 14,073 at Quicken Loans Arena.

"My expectations for us are higher than 11-11," Scott said. "We are definitely making steps in the right direction. This is good. We're playing good basketball right now. We can play better.

"I'm used to winning. I want to win every night."

For a team that's now lost 12 in a row, the Magic was anything but an easy mark. It hasn't won since Jan. 16, yet it didn't go down easy. It trailed by just three points, 104-101, with 4 minutes to play.

All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving paced the Cavs (16-34) with 24 points, six rebounds and eight assists. He credited the Cavs' bench for being the difference in the game.

The Cavs' bench outscored the Magic, 51-15.

"It makes our jobs easier," Irving said. "Our second unit outweighs our starters (in experience) by a lot. It's a testament to them how well they are playing."

The two former Grizzlies, center Marreese Speights and guard Wayne Ellington, combined for 32 points. The 6-foot-10 Speights converted 12 of 12 from the foul line en route to 18 points and five rebounds. Ellington fired in 3 of 5 from behind the arc for 14 points.

The Cavs are 6-2 since the Jan. 22 trade with Memphis.

"Our second unit did a good job of igniting everything," Scott said. "We have a great group of guys who are willing to give up a piece of their games for the good of the team. They know their role."

Forward Tristan Thompson added 16 points, five rebounds, two steals and one block. Guard Dion Waiters had 15 points.

The Cavs have turned the ball over six times in each of the last two games. They're also averaging 120.5 points in their last two.

For Orlando, center Nikola Vucevic erupted for a career-high 25 points and 13 rebounds, both game highs. Power forward Andrew Nicholson added 21 points and eight rebounds.

"They do a great job executing their offense," Scott said. "Their bigs killed us. We got a lot more physical with them in the second half."

Vucevic was upset that the Cavs were 34 of 41 from the foul line.

"I think we did a solid job defensively, but we gave them a lot of free throws," he said.

Shooting guard Arron Afflalo added 23 points, while point guard Jameer Nelson dished out a game-high 13 assists.

"We started off early with too many turnovers," Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said. "Transition turnovers hurt us early and then (in the second half), fouls hurt us."

The losing hasn't caused the Magic to splinter.

"We're still together," Nicholson said. "We still talk. We're always together as one unit, so whether we win or lose, we are still collectively together."

Notes: The Cavs are expected to offer free agent center Greg Oden a two-year contract with a team option for a third year after the Feb. 21 trade deadline passes, a league source told ohio.com. ... Irving will be burning the candle at both ends during All-Star weekend. Irving will take part in the Rising Stars Challenge on Friday, the Three-Point Contest on Saturday and the All-Star Game on Sunday. "I'm not really worried," he said. "This is my first All-Star weekend. I'm a 20-year-old kid. I'll enjoy it as much as possible." Scott said his star guard will be a very busy man. "They are going to run him ragged," he said. Scott plans on setting up the racks of balls after practice on Tuesday and have a shootout with Irving. "I'll show him how it's done," Scott said. He went to the long-distance shootout twice during his career, in 1987 and 1988. He finished third in '88 behind eventual winner Larry Bird and Dale Ellis. He said he'd gladly offer advice to his prodigy. The question is whether he wants to accept it. "I have to get advice from a first-place winner," Irving said. ... Afflalo missed six games with a strained calf. He returned to the starting lineup against the Cavs. "He's 100 percent healthy to go," Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said. ... TNT analyst Shaquille O'Neal made Irving the third overall pick in the Rising Stars Challenge. "I might go out and get 50 this time," Irving said. "Some people didn't know if I'd play in the game. Being picked third, I definitely want to play now." Irving will be joined by teammates Waiters and Tyler Zeller on Team Shaq. Thompson is on Team Chuck. "I've always been an outcast," Thompson said. ... The Magic were playing without shooting guard J.J. Redick (sore right shoulder) and forwards Al Harrington (right knee), Glen Davis (fractured right foot) and Hedo Turkoglu (fractured left hand).