Mitchell drops 39, Cavs outlast Magic in Game 7
2 years ago - Sportingbase
The Cavaliers will advance to the Eastern Conference Semi Finals having taken down the Magic 106-94 in Game 7 in Cleveland behind Donovan Mitchell’s 39.
Mitchell finished with 39 points on 11-of-27 from the field and 15-of-17 from the stripe to go along with nine rebounds and five assists.
His third playoff outing as a Cav in which he finished with 35 or more, the five-time All-Star now trails only LeBron James (47) and Kyrie Irving (5) for the most in franchise history.
Finding offensive production outside of Mitchell proved somewhat of a struggle for Cleveland; backcourt partner Darius Garland (12 pts, 3/13 FG) struggled shooting and Jarrett Allen missed his third-straight game with a rib injury.
Evan Mobley (11 pts, 16 reb, 5 blk) found ways to be effective whilst Caris LeVert (15 pts, 4 reb, 5/9 FG) and Max Strus (13 pts, 3/6 3P) provided handy boosts.
The Cavs found themselves in a hole early with the Magic leaping out to an 18-point, second quarter lead.
An extended 45-19 run however – which spanned across halves – saw the Cavs surge ahead to take an eight-point buffer into the final frame.
Their defence held the Magic to just 15 points in the third and 41 in the second half to sprint to a crucial Game 7 win.
Orlando hit on just 29 of their 86 field goal attempts (33.7%) and were outscored 50-28 in paint points.
Despite the loss, Paolo Banchero was phenomenal for the Magic in the first playoff series of his career.
The 21-year-old put up 38 points and 16 rebounds joining Dwight Howard as the only other player in franchise history to hit those marks in a playoff game.
Wendell Carter Jr. (13 pts, 7 reb, 5/10 FG) and Jalen Suggs (10 pts, 9 reb, 2/13 FG) were the only other Magic players to finish in double-figures.
It proved an outing to forget for Franz Wagner however with the 22-year-old finishing with just six points on 1-of-15 from the field.
Wagner and Suggs shot a combined 3-of-28 from the field.
Cleveland will advance to face the No.1 seed Celtics in the second round.
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