ORLANDO, Fla. — Paolo Banchero scored 10 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter and the Orlando Magic topped Donovan Mitchell's 50 points and defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 103-96 on Friday night in their first game. He led them to a decisive victory in Game 7. NBA playoff series round.
Three nights after scoring 39 points on 14-of-24 shooting in a one-point road loss that brought the Magic to the brink of elimination, the 21-year-old Banchero put his team on his back and led them to their biggest win yet. Ta. In a year.
The Magic finished with 22 points, with Franz Wagner scoring 26 points and Jalen Suggs making six 3-pointers. Banchero hit a 3-pointer late in the game to take the lead over Orlando, 92-89.
Mitchell was great for Cleveland, scoring all 18 of his team's points in the fourth quarter. Darius Garland made 21, but the Cavs ultimately couldn't overcome poor 3-point shooting (7-of-28).
Game 7 will be played in Cleveland on Sunday, and the Cavaliers have won Games 1, 2 and 5 and have dropped seven straight playoff games since winning Game 7 at Boston, led by LeBron James, in the Eastern League in 2018. They are clearly playing better than the away game. Conference finals.
The Magic are in the playoffs for the first time since 2020 and are looking to win the series for the first time in 14 years.
Orlando won Games 3 and 4 by a combined 61 points, but went into the game Friday night with a slightly different look, adding forward Jonathan Isaac to the starting lineup and shifting Wagner from forward to guard. He placed four 6-foot-10 players on the floor. at the same time.
With center Jarrett Allen sidelined for the second straight game with a bruised rib, the Cavs slid forward Evan Mobley to center, and 34-year-old Marcus Morris Sr. came off the bench to start and play 12 games. He scored and raised Cleveland's level. Physicality.
The Cavs led 53-49 at the half, but they were fortunate that the lead didn't get too big considering they missed 13 of 14 3-point shots.
With an aggressive Mitchell and Garland seemingly driving to the basket at will, Cleveland made 22 of 32 shots from inside the arc, ultimately improving overall shooting before intermission. He maintained a close lead with a rate of 50% (23 out of 46).
They finally started to heat up from long range in the third quarter, with Mitchell and Max Strus hitting 3-pointers as they opened 17-4. The lead was up to 9 points, but the score was narrowed to 78-73 heading into the fourth quarter.
