James, Cavs look to spoil Magic show

Cleveland, which has won four in row, opened the swing with a 98-97 win over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday.

Damon Jones hit the game-winning three as time expired and LeBron James added 35 points in the win. Jones missed practice on Monday with flu-like symptoms but showed no signs of fatigue in his 20 minutes of work in a home-and-home sweep of the Raptors.

After Friday’s tilt in Orlando, the Cavs will close out the road trip in Miami and Dallas. Cleveland, seeded fourth in the East, is 8-4 in its last 12 road games and 14-16 away from Quicken Loans Arena this season.

The Magic, meanwhile, are struggling mightily.

They have lost six in a row and 18 of their last 20 games, including Monday’s 90-85 loss to the Utah Jazz. Dwight Howard had a double-double for the Magic with 18 points and 14 boards. Carlos Arroyo and DeShawn Stevenson both donated 14 points for Orlando, which lost for the 13th consecutive time on the road.

Jameer Nelson and Keyon Dooling each contributed 10 points in the loss, Orlando’s 14th in 15 contests overall.

Orlando, which ended 0-5 on their latest road trip, is 2-5 in its last seven games at home and 14-14 at TD Waterhouse Centre this season.

Friday’s meeting between Cleveland and Orlando is the fourth and final matchup of the 2005-06 season. The Cavs won the first three meetings against the Magic, including a 105-92 triumph in the last showdown on February 21.

Cleveland has won six straight and eight of the last nine meetings against the Magic, who have dropped their last two games at home versus the Cavs.