Los Angeles (AFP) – Paolo Banchero and the Orlando Magic dominated late to overcome a heroic 50-point performance from Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell and beat the Cavaliers 103-96 on Friday, forcing a decisive game seven in their NBA Eastern Conference playoff series.
Banchero scored 10 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter for Orlando, drilling a three-pointer that put the Magic ahead for good with 3:39 left to play in a back-and-forth battle in which neither team could build a double-digit lead.
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Franz Wagner added 26 points for Orlando and Jalen Suggs made six three-pointers on the way to 22.
Orlando, which had won games three and four at home by an average of 30.5 points, never looked like producing another blowout.
But with Banchero leading the way they had enough at the end to overcome Mitchell, who was clearly troubled by a nagging knee injury but had all 18 of the Cavs’ fourth-quarter points.
With the series tied at three games apiece, the Cavs host game seven on Sunday.
To advance to a second-round series against the Boston Celtics the Magic will have to do what neither team has done this series and win on the road.
Cleveland players, who made just one of 14 from three-point range, dominated the paint to keep it close.
Down by four at halftime, the Cavs continued to attack the rim, authoring a 13-0 scoring run to take a 62-55 lead.
Mitchell briefly departed the court in the third quarter favoring his knee, but he returned to close the period with a floater at the buzzer that sent Cleveland into the fourth quarter with a 78-73 advantage.
The lead would change hands five times in the final period before Banchero broke a tie and the Magic pulled away.
Darius Garland added 21 points for Cleveland, who were without center Jarrett Allen because of a rib contusion.
Friday’s other game saw the Dallas Mavericks, with a 3-2 series lead over the Los Angeles Clippers, trying to close out their Western Conference series at home.
© 2024 AFP
