Donovan Mitchell did it again and the Cleveland Cavaliers are onto the second round of the NBA playoffs.
Mitchell didn’t score 50 points, as he did in Friday’s Game 6. But he scored 39 points in Sunday afternoon’s Game 7, which the Cavs won, 106–94, over the Orlando Magic. Cleveland won the first-round playoff series 4–3.
Early on, Mitchell again had little help. Yet for the second consecutive game, he carried the Cavs. Despite Jalen Suggs playing tough defense on him, Mitchell put together another superstar performance. In the first half, Mitchell shot 3-for-13 for 15 points. But he went hard at Suggs to score 17 points in the third and fuel a comeback.
The home team won each game of the seven-game series. Orlando appeared to be taking control after blowing Cleveland out in Games 3 and 4. And in Game 6, the Cavs couldn’t even score 100 despite Mitchell’s 50 points.
Cleveland looked like a team that had virtually nothing left, falling behind by 18 points in the second quarter. However, they cut the deficit to 10 points, 53–43, at halftime and stormed back to take the lead at 65–64. The Cavaliers outscored Orlando, 33–15, in the third quarter to take a 76–68 lead into the fourth.
Outside shooting continued to be a major issue for the Cavaliers in the first half. They shot only 2-for-11 (17.8%) from behind the arc with Sam Merrill hitting both of them. However, Max Strus hit two three-pointers to break Cleveland’s long-range struggles and help the rally effort. And a three from Darius Garland gave the Cavs their biggest lead at 88–77 with just under six minutes remaining in the game.
Paolo Banchero started strong, but faltered
If Paolo Banchero hadn’t already arrived as an NBA star, he tried to announce his presence in his first playoff Game 7 with the Magic’s season at stake.
Banchero, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, scored 38 points with 16 rebounds and three steals to lead a rout of the Cavs on their home court. As Stephen A. Smith said during ESPN’s halftime show, “The brother is big-time.”
However, Banchero only scored four points in the frame, shooting 1-for-7 with Isaac Okoro checking him. Virtually disappearing from a scoring standpoint was a significant factor in Cleveland’s comeback.
Game 1 of the Cavaliers-Celtics second-round series is scheduled for Tuesday. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. ET with the telecast on TNT.
