Cleveland defeats Orlando in a decisive Game 7 to advance to the conference semifinals

The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Orlando Magic 106-94 in the decisive seventh game of the opening round of the playoffs to win the series 4-3. The Cavaliers will face the regular season leader Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Cleveland’s series with Orlando was very even. Both teams had a 100% success rate on their home floor. The Cavaliers entered the game as the favorite. First of all, because they played on their home court and in the last game Donovan Mitchell broke the shooting chain with 50 points.

The Cavaliers didn’t start very well, losing by 10 points at halftime. However, Orlando overplayed the start of the game and in the second half the experience of the home team was already showing, as they took the reins of the game into their own hands and went for advancement.

Cleveland was again led by Mitchell, who scored 39 points for the Magic. He has 89 points in the last 2 games. He added 9 rebounds and 5 assists. He didn’t leave the floor for the whole game, as he spent over 45 minutes on it.

He was supported by 4 other teammates who scored double-digit points. But most importantly, he didn’t stay alone in the last quarter like in the last game, when no one else was able to make a shot and the Cavaliers were able to advance on the Magic’s floor.

Orlando was once again led by Paolo Banchero, who also had a great game, putting up 38 points and adding 16 rebounds in 42 minutes on the floor. However, his traditional teammate on offense completely burned out, Franz Wagner scored just 6 points in 35 minutes, missing 14 of 15 shots from the field.

Either way, the Magic have looked likeable this season and have a bright future ahead of them.

So Cleveland confirmed their experience in a crucial game and will face a much tougher caliber in the semifinals of their conference in the form of the best unit of the regular season, the Boston Celtics.

Source: NBA