Cleveland Cavaliers outduel Orlando in yet another low scoring affair, taking a convincing 2-0 series lead.
To no NBA fan’s surprise, these first two games of the Cavs vs Magic series have been physical, low scoring, and defensive minded. Both of which have featured no team scoring over 100 points, with Cleveland victories coming at scores 97-83 in game 1 and 96-86 in game 2. With that being said, the Cavs have looked driven to bounce back following a disappointing first round loss last year vs the Knicks. In game 1, the Cavaliers forced Orlando Magic star Paolo Banchero into a career-worst 9 turnovers, in a game where Orlando’s inexperience, lack of shooting, and lack of offensive fire-power was on full display. Even despite an abysmal 3-point shooting stretch from Cleveland, they still had control of the game, taking a 20 point lead in the early 4th quarter. Donovan Mitchell shined for the Cavs, scoring an efficient 30 points, with other key contributors being Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, who both posted double-doubles. In game 2, many of the same themes persisted. Cleveland caused havoc and exposed Orlando’s offensive weaknesses, forcing Banchero into 6 more turnovers as well as co-star Franz Wagner into 6 turnovers. Both of them also weren’t able to create many high quality looks, with Wagner shooting 5-17, and Banchero scoring 21 points on 20 shot attempts. For Cleveland, Jarrett Allen had a monster 16 point and 20 rebound performance, with other key scoring contributions from Mitchell, Garland, and Mobley.
What to know for game 3:
Orlando has been on a tear at their home court this year, with a 29-12 home record, which is good for the sixth best in the league. Unfortunately for Cleveland, they’ve been rather mediocre while playing away games, with the thirteenth best away record in the league. However, there is a lot of pressure on the young Orlando team to win this game and not fall to a 3-0 series deficit, which has proven insurmountable over the course of NBA playoff history. Another area of concern for the Magic is guard Jalen Suggs’ left knee strain that he suffered early on in game 2. Suggs did brush this off for the most part, returning to play later in game 2, and insisting to reporters he’d be playing in Thursday’s game 3 action. Despite the Cavs dominating the first two games, it will likely be a dogfight in game 3 given Orlando’s prowess at home as well as because their backs are against the wall, desperate to stay afloat in this series.
