Orlando Magic’s Season Ends With Game 7 Loss in Cleveland

CLEVELAND - A story of two extraordinary home-court focal points and a story of two parts in Amusement 7. 

They are the accounts that characterized the first-round playoff arrangement between the fourth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers and fifth-seeded Orlando Enchantment. 

The domestic group won all seven diversions and the Cavs, behind another Herculean execution from Donovan Mitchell, deleted an 18-point first-half shortage to win the arrangement finale 106-94 and development to the Eastern Conference Elimination rounds, where they will take on the top-seeded Boston Celtics. 

Mitchell, a five-time NBA All-Star, was fair 3-of-13 from the field earlier to interlude, and at that point like a flip of a switch, he changed into “Spida,” a moniker given to him by a previous teammate’s father for his Spider-man-like properties. 

The 6-foot-1, long-armed watch finished up scoring 39 focuses, 17 coming in the tide-turning third quarter when the Cavs outscored the Enchantment by 18. 

Immediately taking after the amusement, he recognized fair how intense it was to play against the Enchantment and, after going toe-to-toe against them for seven recreations, can see why they are broadly thought of as one of the best youthful groups in the association. 

“First of all, I need to donate to the credit to the Enchantment, man,” he told ABC’s Lisa Salters. “They’ve got a few dawgs over there. Jamahl Mosley is a extraordinary coach. They’ve got a few folks (that are truly great). Paolo Banchero is going to be a beast. Much regard to them. This wasn’t easy.” 

For most of the to begin with half, the Enchantment were outmuscling and outhustling the Cavs. Their defense, which is their calling card, was covering, and they were driving Cleveland into an plenitude of heavily-contested shots – both in the paint and on the perimeter.

The other huge component of Orlando’s early-game victory was the overwhelming play of Banchero, scored 24 of his 38 focuses earlier to the break. He moreover wrapped up with 16 bounce back, giving him a combine of double-doubles in the arrangement and three exhibitions of over 30 points.

“Special,” Mosley said of the 21-year-old second-year sensation. “There’s a reason why he’s an All-Star. There’s a reason why he’ll be All-NBA. Huge minutes, he never shies absent from them. Never sponsored down. (He) needed each ounce of anything they were tossing at him…All the things that you’ve inquired him to do in these enormous minutes, he did.” 

As was the case in each of the other three diversions in Cleveland, the Enchantment battled powerfully from 3-point run, going 10-for-31 (32.3 percent) in Sunday’s Amusement 7. By and large, Orlando shot 33.7 percent from the floor.

The Magic’s supporting cast, which was wonderful at domestic but restricted on the street all through the arrangement, didn’t collectively do sufficient obnoxiously. Franz Wagner, uniquely, went 1-for-15 from the field and wrapped up with fair six focuses. Jalen Suggs, who scored 10, went 2-for-13, with eight of those misses coming from downtown. Orlando’s seat, in the interim, totaled fair 21 focuses. 

The Cavs were without center Jarrett Allen for a third straight amusement with a right rib wound. Caris LeVert, who’s been bothered by knee torment, came up huge and had 15 focuses. Evan Mobley’s defense played a gigantic calculate as well.

The Enchantment are presently 2-2 all time in Amusement 7s. It’s moreover the third time they’ve been portion of a playoff arrangement where the domestic group won all the diversions. The others were in the 1995 Eastern Conference Finals against the Pacers and in the to begin with circular against the Warm in 1997, which was a best-of-five. 

Although the misfortune is new, Mosley, Banchero and the rest of the group realize how much advance they made this season, and accept this playoff arrangement against the Cavs will make them indeed more grounded in the long run.

“After those to begin with two recreations, everybody was looking at us like, gracious I don’t know if they are prepared and anything. For us to take this to seven and at that point have a incredible to begin with half (in Diversion 7), and at that point have them have to battle for each inch to get back in and beat us,” Banchero said. “It appears where we are headed. It appears what we were able to do this year by itself. It’s truly empowering for everyone – players, coaches, entirety organization. We are truly going to construct off this.”