Basketball / Nick Shiambouros / 22 May 2009 / Leave a comment

After the Magic stole an exceptional game in mid-week, it's up to the Cavaliers to hit back... Nick Shiambouros looks ahead to the weekend's match-ups and explains why he's sticking with Cleveland.

The Cleveland Cavaliers were beaten 107-106 by the Orlando Magic on Wednesday in a truly amazing game of basketball.

The Caveliers took control at the start and led 33-19 after the first quarter.Orlando simply had no answer to some outstanding play inside by Anderson Varejeo and LeBron James.

The Magic looked beaten at half-time when they went in to the locker room trailing 63-48. There was plenty of money traded at [1.03] on Cleveland who appeared to be in complete control of this one sided affair.

In the second half Orlando fought back, led by Rashard Lewis and Dwight Howard , who started to light up the board with some huge buckets. In the fourth quarter Cleveland looked totally lost as the only person handling the ball was LeBron. The rest of the Cavalier rotation started to ball watch as James drove to the hoop on every Cavalier possession. As great a player as LeBron James is he could not carry the whole team on his back and Cleveland paid the price. With only 14 seconds left Rashard Lewis drained a three point shot for Orlando to take the lead and win the game.

The Magic stole game one and now it is up to Cleveland to answer in game two at Quicken Loans Arena on Friday. I believe the Cavaliers won't make the same mistake twice and my cash once again will be on Cleveland with the handicap (-8.5). I had ample opportunity to trade out of my position on Wednesday but I declined. I was as stunned as the Cavaliers were at the end of the game but I am doubling my stake on Friday night to recoup.

A Cleveland loss on Friday is unthinkable .I am sure they will rise to the occasion and run up the score against Orlando in this crucial game.

Over in the Western Conference the series the Los Angeles Lakers and The Denver Nuggets are tied at one game apiece in the series .In the opening game on Tuesday the Lakers were behind for most of the game but rallied late to beat Denver 105-103. Carmelo Anthony scored 39 points for the Nuggets with some simply irresistible basketball. With possibly the exception of Ray Allen, "Melo" has the sweetest jump shot in basketball. Once again the Lakers looked out of sorts for long periods of time as the Hollywood elite anxiously looked on.

On Thursday night, the Nuggets beat the Lakers 106-103 in a very entertaining game. Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups combined for a total of 61 points. Anthony did a good job defending Kobe Bryant and this young player is really showing what a superstar he has become.

The Lakers are in a real fight now as game three moves to Denver on Saturday night. This series could go all the way and I will be backing Denver in game three for the outright win. This Denver team matches up very well against the Lakers who have not been playing with enough intensity for my liking.