A youthful Orlando Magic team came unstuck at the hands of the Cavaliers as Donovan Mitchell led the scoring in an 83-97 victory. Depsite Mitchell's high scoring performance, double-doubles from both Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley were key pieces in the Cavaliers' victory.
The Cavs will have been looking to make up for last seasons first-round disappointment against the New York Knicks and victory today set them facing in the right direction.
The last time the two met, the Magic came away with a 116-109 victory, where Mitchell was not a feature due to injury. However, his impact today proved to be too much for the Orlando defence as Cleveland lead the series 1-0.
In their first play-off match for four years, the Orlando Magic couldn't live up to Cleveland's experience and physicality on the court and will be hoping they can show a much improved performance at home court on Tuesday, where they rank in third in the East for home form.
Story of the Game:
The game began with two back-to-back three pointers from the Cavs as they sailed into an early lead. They lead the Magic 15-0 in points gained from three-point range and it was clear that the Cavs had the edge early on when it came to shooting from distance. By the end of the first quarter, the Cavs led the Magic 33-26 while shooting 56.5% from the field and 50% from three. Mitchell and Evan Mobley ended the quarter in double figures, whilst Paolo Banchero's eight points were the highest from the Magic.
In terms of experience, the Orlando Magic's starters had played just 44 minutes together on the court, whilst the Cavs' starters had registered 348 minutes. This was clear to see in the second quarter as the Cavaliers' physicality and clever play was frustrating the Magic and tempers began to rise. With three minutes left in Q2, the Cavaliers managed to extend to a 14-point gap. At the half, the Cavs had a 48.7 field goal percentage, whilst the Magic had a percentage of 31.7. The Cavs had outscored the Magic by five in the second.
With the third quarter underway, the quality on the court began to diminish. The Cavaliers had three turnovers from their first six possessions and this allowed the Magic to close the gap down to just three points midway through Q3. Even worse, J.B. Bickerstaff's team went on a 0-18 run from three point range. However Jarret Allen's presence in the paint and Donovan Mitchell's quick-fire scoring saw the Cavs re-extent their lead, with a 16-5 scoring run to end the quarter. Magic 58 - 73 Cavaliers.
As the fourth and final quarter began, Darius Garland made Cleveland's first three pointer in 31 minutes and 58 seconds, where they had managed to miss 18 straight from beyond the arch. This allowed the Cavs to soar into a 20-point lead (their largest winning margin of the game) and ultimately eliminated any hope the Magic had of coming back. A short scare came as, with five minutes to go, the Cavaliers' reduced down to single figures but overall they came away with a comfortable 83-97 victory on home court.
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Player of the Game: Donovan Mitchell
Getting the scoring underway early into the game, Donovan Mitchell led the Cavaliers to victory with a huge 30-point game. The former 13th overall pick contributed to some key plays and dominated on the court. The Magic were unable to handle him and he led the Cleveland Cavaliers to 1-0 lead in the play-off series.
