In front of a national television audience, the Cavs again got the best of the undermanned Orlando Magic on Friday night, 120-109. Cleveland is 6-0 this season, just two wins away from matching the best start in franchise history.

There were elements Friday night that caused late April flashbacks. A chorus of boos for Cleveland villain Mo Wagner. Hard fouls. Jaws in play. Chatter after playing. Physically. The scoreboard.

Bad blood was evident everywhere — and not just because it poured from Magic guard Jalen Suggs’ arm at one point in the first half.

But with Cleveland on a historic run to open the season and Orlando missing two starters — leading scorer Paolo Banchero (oblique) and Wendell Carter Jr. (knee) – the Magic couldn’t keep up.

“It was a close game,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said after the win.

The Cavs quickly took the lead thanks to another tone-setting first quarter, outscoring Orlando 34-16. There were no lead changes and only one draw. Cleveland’s largest lead increased to 22 points and the closest nasty Orlando came in the second half was 10.

Once the Magic began to threaten late in the third quarter, the Cavs buried a trio of 3-pointers in the final two minutes to extend their lead to 17 entering the fourth. At the 3:58 mark of the fourth quarter, both coaches withdrew their starters, with Atkinson giving Luke Travers, playing for the first time all season, his first NBA minutes.

Travers scored his first NBA points, hitting a pair of free throws just 11 seconds into the check-in. Then came his first NBA-made basket: a sharp dunk at 2:28.

All 13 players who participated made at least one shot.

The undefeated Cavs were led by point guard Darius Garland, who had a forgettable playoff series against Orlando. On the night, Garland scored a team-high 25 points on 8 of 16 shooting and 3 of 9 from 3-point range to go with four assists, three rebounds, one block and a steal in 29 minutes, despite was saddled with dirty problems. .

“The atmosphere is pretty spotless right now,” Garland said. “Everyone feels good. There are 82 games per season, so you take it day by day.”

Garland’s defensive partner Donovan Mitchell, who also struggled with foul trouble, added 22 points. Evan Mobley scored fourteen points and twelve rebounds.

Sixth man Caris LeVert once again anchored the revamped bench unit with 13 points. Cleveland’s bench defeated Orlando’s 52-36.

“The bench is certainly holding up for us and we really appreciate it,” Garland said. “We’re going to need them all year long.”

Orlando was led by Suggs, who finished with 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Franz Wagner, a first-round nemesis from Cleveland, had 17 points on just 8 of 19 shooting. His brother, Mo, had 14 points and five boards.

Early Friday, several players talked about the impressive start, which has seen the Cavs near the top of the league in many telling statistical categories. After Friday’s thumping, they have now outscored their opponents by 102 points, marking the highest point differential through the first six games in Cavs history.

But they also admitted that there is still a level to reach. The goal is daily consistency, with the hope of a peak in the spring. Friday was another step in that direction.

One win at a time.

“We knew what we had in this locker room,” Mitchell said. “I think the most important thing is that you just keep developing. Evan Mobley is no longer the same player he was two years ago. Darius Garland is exactly who he has been. JA (Jarrett Allen) has improved. Caris has improved. Dean Wade does. That takes time. It took the Boston Celtics eight, seven years, to win a championship. Hopefully it won’t take seven years, but the goal, that’s what you have to improve, you have to find ways to continue to build and go 82-0. No, I’m kidding. But that’s the goal: to just continue building habits.”

Next

The Cavs play the Bucks in Milwaukee in the second game of a back-to-back Saturday night. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m