Donovan Mitchell Led The Cavs To A Game 1 Win Over The Magic

The Cleveland Cavaliers made it clear with their season finale performance that they wanted the 4-seed and a date with the Orlando Magic in the first round, and on Saturday they got a chance to prove that to be a wise maneuver in Game 1. Cleveland would pull away for a 97-83 win, as the opener to the series was the defensive struggle many expected, with maybe worse three-point shooting on both sides than anyone anticipated.

The Cavs did come out hot, quickly knocking down five threes in the first five minutes to immediately take command of the game, with Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley taking the lead offensively, but would only make three more from deep the rest of the game.

The Magic would hang around, but Cleveland would push the lead out to 12 at the half thanks to continued terrific play from Mitchell.

Orlando wouldn’t fade away easily though, as the Magic mounted a third quarter response that saw them trim the lead down to just a few. They turned defense into offense, as they’ve done all season, and were able to get out into transition where they were able to free things up a bit.

However, the Cavs always had an answer for every Magic run, largely because Mitchell was nothing short of spectacular. He finished with 30 points to lead all scorers, putting the finishing touches on a Game 1 win for Cleveland with some big buckets inside and out in the fourth quarter.

Jarrett Allen (16 points, 18 rebounds) and Evan Mobley (16 points, 11 rebounds) each had double-doubles, as the Cavs got much better contributions from their big men in their playoff opener in 2024 after those two had a rough time a year ago int he first round with the Knicks. Darius Garland had 14 points and 8 assists, as he set the table for the Cavs offensively. Overall it was a solid performance, although not a good shooting night once again from their role guys, and while they might be able to get through Orlando playing this way, they’ll need to find a better offensive rhythm if they’re going to have a chance at making noise beyond the first round.

Paolo Banchero led the Magic with 24 points, with Franz Wagner chipping in 18, but the Magic could not buy a shot from the perimeter (8-of-37 from three). With the Magic offering no threat from three-point range, the Cavs were able to pack the paint and make it difficult for Banchero and Wagner to get to the rim. As a team, Orlando shot 32.6 percent from the field, which simply won’t work if they’re going to win playoff games.

Cleveland didn’t fare much better from three (8-of-30), but were more effective inside and were much better equipped to deal with Orlando’s physicality compared to their struggles with that a year ago when facing the Knicks in the first round. Going forward, it’s clear the Magic need one of their guards to get hot if they’re going to have a chance of making this an interesting series. Their defense was plenty good in this one, but the offense was simply dreadful. Jalen Suggs (4-of-16), Gary Harris (0-of-6), and Cole Anthony (0-of-7) have to provide something of a threat from the backcourt, or else there’s just too much pressure on Banchero and Wagner to create everything (and neither are great shooting threats themselves).

They’ll meet for Game 2 back in Cleveland on Monday night at 7:00 p.m. ET on NBATV.