CLEVELAND – Donovan Mitchell scored 39 points, Caris LeVert added 15 and the Cleveland Cavaliers avoided a potentially franchise-changing loss by rallying to beat the Orlando Magic 106-94 on Sunday in Game 7 to advance to the Eastern Conference playoffs.
The Cavs led by 18 points in the first half and were in danger of being eliminated in the first round for the second year in a row, a situation that could have led to layoffs.
But Mitchell, who scored 50 in the Game 6 loss in Orlando and has been battling a left knee injury for months, put the Cavs on his back. It got them past a promising Orlando team that lacked playoff experience in the second half.
Evan Mobley grabbed 16 rebounds and Darius Garland hit a critical 3-pointer in the fourth for Cleveland, which won its first playoff series without LeBron James since 1993.
The Cavs now begin the second round on the road against the top-seeded Boston Celtics and rest in Game 1 on Tuesday.
In the final minutes, the towel-waving Cleveland crowd chanted “We want Boston!” – a conflict that did not seem like an hour before.
Paolo Banchero scored 38 (just 14 after halftime) and added 16 rebounds to lead the Magic, who grew in the series but didn’t know how to win in Cleveland while both teams held service in their courts.
Orlando’s Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs were a combined 3-for-28 from the field. Trailing by 10 points at halftime, Cleveland stepped up its defensive intensity in the third quarter and outscored Orlando 33-15. The Magic shot just 4 of 24 from the field in the period and looked sluggish as they waited for Banchero to do more.
The Cavs were up 85-77 in the fourth when Garland, who showed frustration early in the half before getting a pep talk from Mitchell on the bench, hit a 3-pointer from the corner to put Cleveland up by 11.
After a shot went down and Orlando called a timeout, Garland relieved Mitchell, who was acquired in a trade from Utah two years ago to bring Cleveland closer to another championship.
The Cavs took it another step. Cleveland was without Jarrett Allen, who missed the last three games.
2024-05-06 04:17:06
#Cleveland #progress #NBA #playoffs
