Cleveland+Cavaliers+vs.+Orlando+Magic

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Thursday night's matchup between the Cavaliers and the Orlando Magic is like a great novel or a classic movie, with a great plot and a host of intriguing subplots. There are two Eastern Conference powers meeting for the first time this season in front of a national television audience. There are two All-Star starters in LeBron James and Dwight Howard, Olympic teammates now squaring off against each other. There are two top All-Star reserve candidates in point guards Mo Williams and Jameer Nelson looking to make the squad for the first time. There are two coaches vying to head the Eastern All-Stars in Mike Brown and Stan Van Gundy. A Cavs victory will clinch the honor for Brown. So know what intrigues the Cavs the most? "The win," said Williams. Brown was a tad more expansive. "Playing the right way and getting a win," the coach said. Oh, come on. Surely someone is excited about the matchup. John Kuntz/The Plain Dealer Last season, Howard and the Magic wrestled three victories out of four games against James and the Cavaliers.

//-- Mary Schmitt Boyer// "We're looking forward to it because it is our next game, honestly," James said. "They're a very good team, Stan Van Gundy has done an excellent job. It's going to be a very good game." Well, then. Perhaps this would be a good time to mention that the Magic took three of four games against the Cavs last season. In the lone Cavs victory on Feb. 11 at Orlando, it took 40 points by Larry Hughes to break the Magic's spell. "They were pretty good last year," Brown said. "They've matured another year, been though the ups and downs of the NBA. Stan's in his second year down there and is a great coach. You have your nucleus come back and you're talking about the same things and you're going to have a chance to get better. "That's a good ball club down there. They have guys who can put the ball in the hole. Mickael Pietrus has been out for I don't know how long [12 games with a fractured right wrist] and comes back and score 27 against Indiana. That's not to mention what [Hedo] Turkoglu can do, and [Rashard] Lewis and Nelson. That's a pretty potent ball club. They've got some nice young pieces, too." Reference "http://www.nba.com/video/games/magic/2009/01/29/nba_cle_orl_0020800679_recap.nba/whatsnew/index.html"
 * CAVALIERS VS. MAGIC**
 * Tipoff:** Thursday, 8 p.m. at Amway Arena.
 * TV/radio:** TNT, FSN Ohio; WTAM AM/1100.
 * Notable:** First game of a back-to-back for the Cavs, who will be playing for the third time in four nights when the Los Angeles Clippers visit The Q on Friday. ... Cavs are 14-8 on the road with a three-game winning streak. ... Magic 17-4 at home. ... Dwight Howard leads the league in blocked shots (3.17 per game) and is tied for the league in rebounding (13.8).