The Cleveland Cavaliers recorded a pair of convincing victories at home to open their Eastern Conference first-round series before the Magic held serve in Orlando during the next two games.
The fourth-seeded Cavaliers will look to rebound Tuesday following a second-half collapse in their last contest when they host the fifth-seeded Magic in Game 5.
“It’s a chess match,” Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “They’ve held home court just like we did. We get an opportunity to go home and play a best-of-three series with two games in Cleveland.
“We’ve got to go out and do the job. We’ve got areas where we can make some changes and fix some things.”
Indeed they do, starting with the Cavaliers showing up after halftime. They mustered just 10 points in the third quarter and were outscored 61-29 in the second half of Saturday’s 112-89 setback.
Cleveland’s Jarrett Allen collected 21 points and nine rebounds while Donovan Mitchell scored all 18 of his points in the first half.
“I have to start putting together better second halves. It’s happened all series,” Mitchell said. “I’m disappointed in myself. Can’t have 18 points in the first half and zero in the second and take only four shots. I have to be better.
“I told you after Game 1, ‘This is who I am, and this is why I’m here.’ Both games we lost, I haven’t been myself. It’s on me. As much as the success I get, I deserve the criticism, too. I hold myself to that. It’s a fact.”
Orlando’s Franz Wagner deserves some of the praise, too. He made 13 of 17 shots to finish with 34 points on Saturday.
“We’re not satisfied at all,” said Wagner, who also had 13 rebounds. “We just got two wins. We need two more against them, so we’ve got to stay locked in and try to get the next one in Cleveland.”
Jonathan Isaac sank 5 of 7 shots — including 4 of 6 from 3-point range — while coming off the bench on Saturday. Conversely, he made just 4 of 15 shots — including 3 of 11 from beyond the arc — while starting in the first two games of the series in Cleveland.
“I feel like we’re in the better position out of the two teams right now,” Isaac said, per the Orlando Sentinel. “They’re going home thinking, ‘We have to take care of home court.’ So the momentum is in our favor.”
Isaac wasn’t alone in coming up large off the bench, as the Magic enjoyed a decisive 43-15 edge in points from their reserves. Markelle Fultz made 6 of 9 shot attempts and finished with 12 points.
Meanwhile, the Cavaliers couldn’t throw it in the ocean from 3-point range. They made just 4 of 17 attempts, with Darius Garland going 2-for-5 to lead the team.
Cleveland has failed to score 100 points in seven consecutive playoff games dating back to last year.
Orlando, however, has lost six in a row on the road overall. The Magic’s last win away from home was a 117-108 victory in New Orleans on April 3.
–Field Level Media