Cleveland topples Orlando in Game 7, enters NBA East semis

CLEVELAND Cavaliers battled back from 18 points down to defeat Orlando Magic, 106-94, in Game 7 of the NBA Eastern Conference first round series on Sunday (Monday in the Philippines) at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio.

Donovan Mitchell led the way with 39 points, nine rebounds, and five assists, while Caris LeVert came off-the-bench to deliver 15 points as the Cavaliers closed out the best-of-seven series at 4-3.

Max Strus and Darius Garland also made their presences felt with 13 and 12 points, respectively, while Evan Mobley had a double-double of 11 points and 16 rebounds to go with five blocks for Cleveland.

The No. 4 seed Cavaliers will next face top-ranked Boston Celtics, which moved on to the Eastern Conference semifinals by topping Miami Heat in five games.

Down by as much as 18 points at 47-29 in the second quarter, the Cavaliers made a run behind Mitchell, LeVert, and Sam Merrill to cut the deficit to 43-53 at the half.

The Cavaliers continued its run in the third quarter, tying the score at 64-all before pulling away for a 76-68 lead behind back-to-back three-point connections from Strus.

The Magic tried to rally back several times in the fourth quarter, but the Cavaliers had their answers as they widened the advantage to 103-89 on a dunk by Mobley with over a minute left.

“This is why I am here, it’s my job,” Mitchell said after the game. “But we did not come in just to win the first round. We accomplished one goal, now we have to do it again.”

“I am pretty sure everybody thinks they’re (the Celtics) going to come in and kick our ass,” he added. “So for us to continue to stay level-headed throughout, and just be who we are, that’s the biggest thing.”

Paolo Banchero led the way for the Magic with 38 points, Wendell Carter Jr. and Jalen Suggs had 13 and 10 points, respectively, while Franz Wagner struggled with just six points in the do-or-die game./PN

BOX SCORE:

CLEVELAND 106 — Mitchell 39, LeVert 15, Strus 13, Garland 12, Mobley 11, Okoro 8, Merrill 8, Morris 0, Thompson 0, Niang 0. 

ORLANDO 94 — Banchero 38, Carter 13, Suggs 10, Fultz 8, Anthony 8, F. Wagner 6, Harris 6, M. Wagner 3, Isaac 2, Ingles 0. 

Quarterscores: 18-24; 43-53; 76-68; 106-94.