The Orlando Magic are the youngest team in the Eastern Conference that qualified for the NBA Playoffs. They drew a matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers in what was expected to be a very competitive series. The predictions have been correct, as the teams have gone back and forth.
Facing elimination in Game 6, the Magic showed up on their home court with a 103-96 win. It was an impressive performance by Orlando, who faced some adversity in the third quarter after controlling most of the first half.
Their four-point halftime lead had disappeared and they were now trailing in the game by seven points. Their head coach Jamahl Mosley, one of the better young leaders on the sideline, rallied his troops with a clear message. “Stay the course. This is a long game. We have to understand it’s a game of runs.”
Down five heading into the fourth quarter, the Orlando Magic did not waver. They heeded the words of Mosley and put together a truly dominant final stanza. Orlando erased the deficit, outscoring the Cavaliers 30-18.
Or, should we say, outsourcing Donovan Mitchell 30-18. He was the only Cavaliers player to score in the fourth quarter, as the rest of the team stood around and just watched him try and will the team to victory.
He ended the game with 50 points, but it was not enough to get Cleveland a win. A performance like that, in a loss, will only make the rumors about his future with the franchise that much louder.
“He was going, but the other guys didn’t have it going as much,” Mosley said. “No one overreacted [to Mitchell]. He’s a special, special player. To be able to have 50 and only make three 3s, that’s very special. But our ability not to overreact or panic to what was happening because we continued to share it, move it, trust each other.”
Mitchell is the first player in NBA history to score 50+ points in two postseason losses. He was the only player to score over the final 14 minutes of the game, as his 22 points were the only reason Cleveland was competitive at all.
Orlando received strong games from their trio of Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs. Banchero led the way with 27 points, as Wagner had 26 and Suggs had 22. Another performance like that and the Orlando Magic will be on their way to the second round of the NBA Playoffs.
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