Current:Home > MarketsCavaliers rally past Magic for first playoff series win since 2018 with LeBron James-LoTradeCoin
Cavaliers rally past Magic for first playoff series win since 2018 with LeBron James
View Date:2024-12-23 20:40:53
CLEVELAND — The Cavaliers are shipping up to Boston.
The Cavs completed a wild comeback and beat the Orlando Magic 106-94 in Game 7 of their opening-round series Sunday afternoon at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
The Cavs at one point in the first half trailed by 18 points but pulled off a furious comeback to oust the Magic from the playoffs.
It was the first playoff series win for the Cavaliers since 2018, and the first without LeBron James on the roster in three decades.
The Cavaliers advance to play the No. 1-seeded Boston Celtics in the second round. Game 1 is set for Tuesday night in Boston. The Celtics took down the No. 8 Miami Heat in five games in their opening series.
The Cavaliers had trouble with third quarters all series, but turned that around in a big way Sunday in what was the key stretch with their playoff lives on the line.
After a brutal offensive first half in which the Cavs scored only 43 points and couldn't buy a shot from 3-point range, Donovan Mitchell led the charge out of halftime as the Cavaliers overpowered the Magic in the third quarter, out-scoring Orlando 33-15 and sending Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse into a frenzy.
Mitchell scored 17 points in the third quarter alone as the Cavs chipped away at the Magic's lead. Mitchell was aided by Max Strus, who went scoreless in the first half but then poured in 11 points in the third quarter, including back-to-back 3s as the Cavs not only erased their double-digit deficit but blew past the Magic to take an eight-point lead heading into the final 12 minutes.
Darius Garland had a quiet first half, committing more fouls (three) than points scored (two). He was just 1-of-9 shooting from the floor, but he also hit perhaps the shot that was the beginning of the end for the Magic. With just under half a quarter remaining, Garland missed a corner 3, but Isaac Okoro grabbed the offensive rebound and passed to Mitchell, who found Garland in the same spot, and this time he drilled it to put the Cavs up 88-77.
Later, Garland came away with a steal, hit a jumper and grabbed a defensive rebound within a few seconds of each other, a stretch that gave the Cavs a 96-85 lead with two and a half minutes remaining.
Mitchell finished with a game-high 39 points one game after dropping 50 in Game 6.
Evan Mobley, who started at center with Jarrett Allen again out with bruised ribs, had 11 points, 16 rebounds and five blocked shots.
As the clock wound down, Cavs fans began a "We want Boston!" chant. The Cavs will get the Celtics Tuesday night.
Ryan Lewis can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Threads at @ByRyanLewis.
veryGood! (87897)
Related
- Statue of the late US Rep. John Lewis, a civil rights icon, is unveiled in his native Alabama
- Vecinos de La Villita temen que empeore la contaminación ambiental por los planes de ampliación de la autopista I-55
- SunZia Southwest Transmission Project Receives Final Federal Approval
- EPA Spurns Trump-Era Effort to Drop Clean-Air Protections For Plastic Waste Recycling
- Champions Classic is for elite teams. So why is Michigan State still here? | Opinion
- Why Kate Winslet Absolutely Roasted Robert Downey Jr. After His Failed The Holiday Audition
- How Wildfire Smoke from Australia Affected Climate Events Around the World
- Why Matt Damon Negotiated Extensively With Wife Luciana in Couples Therapy Over Oppenheimer Role
- More human remains from Philadelphia’s 1985 MOVE bombing have been found at a museum
- Clean Energy Experts Are Stretched Too Thin
Ranking
- 2024 'virtually certain' to be warmest year on record, scientists say
- Arizona Announces Phoenix Area Can’t Grow Further on Groundwater
- Environmental Justice Advocates Urge California to Stop Issuing New Drilling Permits in Neighborhoods
- Sharna Burgess Deserves a 10 for Her Birthday Tribute to Fine AF Brian Austin Green
- Women’s baseball players could soon have a league of their own again
- 24-Hour Flash Deal: Save 40% On the Revitalign Orthotic Memory Foam Suede Mules and Slip-Ons
- Solar Is Booming in the California Desert, if Water Issues Don’t Get in the Way
- How Daniel Ellsberg Opened the Door to One of the Most Consequential Climate Stories of Our Time
Recommendation
-
Review: 'Emilia Pérez' is the most wildly original film you'll see in 2024
-
Q&A: The ‘Perfect, Polite Protester’ Reflects on Her Sit-in to Stop a Gas Compressor Outside Boston
-
Operator Error Caused 400,000-Gallon Crude Oil Spill Outside Midland, Texas
-
Why Kate Winslet Absolutely Roasted Robert Downey Jr. After His Failed The Holiday Audition
-
US overdose deaths are down, giving experts hope for an enduring decline
-
On Chicago’s South Side, Naomi Davis Planted the Seeds of Green Solutions to Help Black Communities
-
Preserving the Cowboy Way of Life
-
Fossil Fuel Companies Should Pay Trillions in ‘Climate Reparations,’ New Study Argues