Los Angeles: Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers silenced Orlando’s young guns, defeating the Magic 106-94 in Game 7 of the NBA playoffs on Sunday to set up a showdown with Eastern Conference leader Boston.
Mitchell’s 39 points came two days after a six-game losing streak in the minors.
This time, his teammates had plenty of support as the Cavs overcame an 18-point second-quarter deficit to snap the home team’s game-winning streak.
Caris LeWert scored 15 points off the bench and Max Struss had 11 of his 13 points in the third quarter as the Cavs outscored the Magic 33-15.
Evan Mobley had 11 points and 16 rebounds and 5 rebounds, and Darius Garland posted 12 points to help Cleveland beat Paolo Banchero’s 38 points.
Starting center Jarrett Allen sat out his third straight game with a rib injury and advanced to the second round a year after losing to the New York Knicks in the first round.
“I don’t want to go back,” Mitchell said of the thought that saw him score 17 points in the third quarter as Cleveland tried to take the lead.
The Magic got off to a strong start, with Banchero scoring 10 points in the first period as Orlando cruised to a 24-18 victory.
In front of Orlando’s defense, he connected on just six of 22 shots in the first quarter and didn’t make a three-pointer until Sam Merrill drilled one midway through the second quarter.
The Magic dominated the second quarter, scoring 18 points before the Cavs pulled away to cut the lead.
Banchero’s layup in the closing seconds of the first half saw Orlando take a 10-point halftime lead, but the momentum was on Cleveland’s side and they outscored the Magic in the third.
“They came out and jumped us,” he said, adding that the lock “responded to what we did, kept plugging away, just throwing it away.”
The Strus hit back-to-back three-pointers as Cleveland took a 76-68 lead late in the period.
The Cavs blew a 14-point lead late in the game, and fans chanted “We want Boston” as the closing minutes ticked away.
