Cleveland Cavaliers Cruise To 119-105 Win Over Orlando Magic
The Cleveland Cavaliers continued their much-improved play of late as they easily defeated the Orlando Magic on Saturday night to improve to 27-20 on the season. Tonight’s win represented the third straight for the Cavaliers.
Donovan Mitchell Continues Hot Streak To Lead Cavaliers To Win
It was another magnificent game from Cavaliers All-Star Donovan Mitchell. The 6-time All-Star dropped 36 points and 9 assists in a highly efficient offensive outing for the Cavaliers. Those 36 points represented the third time in six games that Mitchell has scored over 30 points. Mitchell is currently averaging a career high 29 points per game this season, which places Mitchell at 6th among leading scorers in the NBA.
The Cavaliers also got a solid performance from backup Point Guard Jordan Tyson, who has filled in quite nicely as a starter since All-Star Point Guard Darius Garland went down with a foot injury back on Jan. 14. The second-year player finished with a nice stat line of 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists in the win. The Cavaliers had a great night overall on offense, as they shot 53% from the field and 44% from three-point range, knocking down 15 threes for the game.
Jalen Suggs Struggles In Return For Magic
It was a rather unceremonious return for the Magic’s top defender in Jalen Suggs, who missed the previous 8 games for Orlando due to a right knee injury. The former Gonzaga standout finished with just 9 points and 6 assists on 3-of-6 shooting. While Suggs was struggling to find his rhythm, both Paolo Banchero and Desmond Bane were trying to will the Magic to the win with some inspired individual performances.
Banchero dropped a team-high 27 points, while Bane added 20 points as both players led the way on offense for the Magic. The game against Cleveland tonight marked the thirdstraight loss for the Magic, who now sit just two games above .500 at 23-21. Much of the Magic’s recent struggles have been due to a lack of offense outside their star players.
Current Eastern Conference Standings and Upcoming Games For Both Teams
After being stuck at the 7th-place spot in the Eastern Conference for the better part of January, the Cavaliers are finally starting to move up a bit in the standings. Tonight’s win pushed the Cavaliers up to the 5th-place spot, as they remain just a game behind the Toronto Raptors for the 4th seed. The Cavaliers have also quietly gotten back to their winning ways over the past two weeks, winning 7 of their last 10 games.
Meanwhile, the Magic now occupy the 7th-place spot following the loss, which is a bit of a fall from grace as Orlando was in 4th place in the East just a week and a half ago. The Magic will remain in the 7th place spot for the time being as the Philadelphia 76ers hold a two-game lead over them for the 6th seed.
These teams face each other for the second straight game on Monday, as the two teams will meet in Cleveland this time around. That game will be the first of two straight home games for the Cavaliers, as they’ll then host the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday.
