The Orlando Magic and Cleveland Cavaliers will play Game 7 of their first-round NBA playoff series despite Donovan Mitchell scoring 50 points for the Cavs.
Paolo Banchero finished with 27 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter. Franz Wagner scored 26 points (11-of-11 free throws) and Jalen Suggs scored 22 points (6-of-13 3-pointers) as the Magic look to win their first playoff series since the 2009-10 season. Ta.
Game 7 in Cleveland is scheduled to air on ABC Sunday at 1pm ET.
Fortune seemed to be smiling on Magic from the beginning. The best example of that was a play midway through the first quarter. Suggs dove on the sideline to prevent the ball from going wide, forcing Wendell Carter Jr. to tap the ball.
Carter then tried to give the ball back to Suggs to reset the play, but almost threw the ball out of reach. Suggs tracked the ball near the center of the court, noticed Marcus Morris Sr. in the distance, and took a long 3-point shot from the half-court logo.
Orlando took a significant advantage in 3-point shooting in the first quarter, going 4-of-10 from behind the arc. Meanwhile, the Cavs continued to struggle with 3-point shooting, hitting 1-of-8 from 3-point range (7-of-28 for the game).
Wagner also got off to a strong start, scoring 14 points in the first quarter and looked like he would have a dominant game.
Donovan Mitchell pretty much did it all by himself.
Mitchell did his best to prevent the Cavs from playing a Game 7. He almost ensured the series didn't go back to Cleveland alone, scoring the Cavs' final 22 points, including all of their points in the fourth quarter.
Mitchell's ability to finish the game was briefly in doubt when he returned to the locker room with a knee injury near the middle of the third quarter. He suffered a bone bruise on the same left knee in early March, causing him to miss three games.
Injuries appear to be an issue for the Cavs, with Evan Mobley spraining his ankle in the second quarter and Jarrett Allen missing his second consecutive game with a bruised rib. However, Mitchell returned after a brief absence and scored 13 points in the third quarter.
Darius Garland contributed 21 points for Mitchell. Unfortunately, the rest of the Cavs only scored 25 points in their Game 6 loss.
With his 50 points, Mitchell became the second player in Cavaliers history to do so in a playoff game, joining LeBron James, who scored 51 points in Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals. This postseason was the last time Cleveland won a playoff series, including a surprising loss to the New York Knicks in the first round of last year's playoffs.
The home team won each match of the competition.
