The Cleveland Cavaliers took care of business for the second night in a row. They comfortably defeated the Orlando Magic 119-105 thanks to a solid defensive effort and strong contributions from their entire rotation. Cleveland has now won six of their last eight games and 10 of their last 14.
This was an ugly game in the first half. The Cavs very much looked like a team on the second leg of a back-to-back as they struggled to establish any offensive momentum. Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley, combining to go 7-22 from the field in the first two quarters, played a large role in that happening.
Mitchell turning it around in the second half led to this being the stress-free win that it was. He provided 10 points in the third quarter to push what was a seven-point advantage at the break into a 12-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Then, Mitchell put the game away in the fourth by supplying 17 points and three assists in that frame to keep Orlando at arm’s length. In total, 27 of his 36 points came in the second half. He finished the game shooting 15-30 from the field to go along with nine assists, five rebounds, and two steals.
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Cleveland won this game on the defensive end. The Magic are statistically the worst three-point shooting team in the East. The Cavs played them as such. Cleveland packed the paint and dared Orlando’s shooters to beat them from outside. They didn’t, as the Magic went just 11-40 (27.5%) from distance.
The Cavs, on the other hand, were able to knock down their outside shots. They connected on 44.1% of their triples to outscore the Magic by 12 points from beyond the arc.
Cleveland also controlled the paint on both ends. They did a good job of walling off the basket defensively, forcing the Magic to take tough in-between shots. This led to the Cavs having 10 more points in the paint.
You’re going to win most games when you hit more threes and score more points in the paint than your opponent.
Mobley wasn’t able to replicate his Shaq-like performance from Friday’s win over the Sacramento Kings. He was aggressive on the offensive end, but wasn’t able to get those shots to fall as he went just 4-14 from the field, leading to 13 points. Mobley was once again effective on the defensive end and was a large reason why the Cavs were able to keep Orlando’s attack in check.
Cleveland received positive contributions from everyone who played.
Jaylon Tyson continues to make the most of his scoring chances as he provided 17 points on 5-9 shooting. Tyrese Proctor supplied an impressive 12 points on 4-4 shooting in under 10 minutes of play. Dean Wade had a positive contribution as a scorer, as he went 4-4 from the field with 10 points to go along with three steals and two blocks.
The Magic were led by Paolo Banchero’s 27 points on 7-14 shooting. Desmond Bane had 20 points and four rebounds in the loss.
The Cavs will take on the Magic again on Monday. This time, it’ll be in Cleveland. Tip-off is at 7 PM.
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