ORLANDO, Fla. — Paolo Banchero had 31 factors and 14 rebounds, Jalen Suggs added 24 factors and the Orlando Magic handed Cleveland the worst playoff loss in franchise historical past, successful 121-83 on Thursday night time to chop the Cavaliers‘ result in 2-1 of their Japanese Convention first-round sequence.
Franz Wagner completed with 16 factors and eight assists for the Magic, who led by 43 factors within the fourth quarter on the best way to the third-largest margin of victory in a playoff recreation. They earned their first playoff victory since 2019 and the primary on their house flooring since April 26, 2011.
They will even the sequence with a victory at house Sunday.
Jarrett Allen had 15 factors and eight rebounds for the Cavaliers, who shot 39% from the sphere and 23.5% from 3-point vary. Caris LeVert added 15 factors and Donovan Mitchell had 13 factors and 7 assists.
The Cavs’ earlier worse loss was a 36-point defeat towards Washington on April 24, 2008.
Orlando by no means had a lead in the course of the first two video games in Cleveland however blew this one open within the third quarter. Mitchell, Allen, and Cleveland starters Evan Mobley and Max Strus have been taken out of the sport with 3:16 left within the interval and the Cavaliers down 92-58.
After lacking 10 of their first 11 pictures and falling behind by seven, the Magic made 34 of their subsequent 52 field-goal makes an attempt and completed the sport at 51.1% (47 for 92).
A 3-pointer by Banchero with 5:27 left within the first quarter gave them their first lead of the sequence and so they closed the interval on a 13-0 run. Cole Anthony’s 3-pointer on the first-quarter buzzer, his first basket of the sequence, made it 31-21.
Banchero scored twice and Suggs and Jonathan Isaac hit 3-pointers in a 10-0 run late within the first half that left Orlando with a 55-34 lead.
Banchero and Suggs took over the third quarter, combining for 21 of Orlando’s first 27 factors because the Magic stretched their result in 88-56. Their solely playoff victories bigger than this one have been by 47 over Boston in 1995, and Atlanta by 43 in 2010.
Mitchell, the dominant scorer within the first two recreation of the sequence, had one area purpose till hitting a 3-pointer with 2:15 left within the half. It was his solely 3-pointer of he recreation.
The Magic made one lineup change after dropping the primary two video games by 14 and 10 factors and capturing simply 34.3%. Wendell Carter Jr. returned to the beginning lineup at middle after being changed by Isaac in Video games 1 and a pair of and the regular-season finale.
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