Tag: Cleveland Cavaliers

Magic react to dominating win over Cavaliers in Game 3 of playoffs

After failing to lead in their first two games against the Cavaliers, the Magic cruised to a dominating win in Game 3 on Thursday.

ORLANDO, Fla. — After struggling to make shots in their first two games against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Orlando Magic knew things would eventually turn in their favor.

It finally happened on Thursday.

Playing behind their home crowd in the playoffs for the first time since 2019, the Magic shook off a slow start and dominated the Cavaliers to take Game 3 and bring their first-round series to 2-1 with a 121-83 victory at the Kia Center.

Paolo Banchero produced a game-high 31 points, 14 rebounds and five assists, Jalen Suggs scored 24 points and Franz Wagner added 16 points, eight assists and five rebounds to lead the Magic to their first home playoff victory since April 26, 2011.

Magic coach Jamahl Mosley knew Banchero was due for a big game.

“We felt it from the beginning of the game, honestly,” Mosley said. “The moment he stepped into his first shot, it didn’t go in; there was no hesitation in his next one. I think that’s a sign of a young man who is continuing to get better and continuing to grow into who he is becoming. He does not let a make or miss rattle what he is doing.”

The Cavaliers didn’t trail against the Magic in the first two games after picking up consecutive wire-to-wire wins in the playoffs for the first time since May 2017. They collectively held the Magic to 36.2% shooting from the field, including 25.7% from 3-point range, in those two games.

Orlando continued its cold streak on Thursday, missing 10 out of its first 11 shots to fall into an early seven-point hole in the first quarter. The group responded and ended the period on a 28-11 run to take a 10-point lead into the second quarter.

From there, the Magic erased any doubt about their shooting woes by  connecting on 51.1% of their attempts from the field, including 35.1% from beyond the arc. They led by 43 points in the second half before the Cavaliers cut the margin of victory to 38 points, the third-largest in Magic playoff history.

“I just knew I was just going to have to stay in attack mode,” Banchero said. “Obviously, the difference being down 2-1 and 3-0 is ginormous, so I knew that this game was kind of a do-or-die game, and I didn’t want to leave any stone unturned. I wanted to just go out there and hoop and be aggressive from the start.”

Banchero became the first Magic player to score at least 30 points in the playoffs since Nikola Vucevic on Aug. 24, 2020. He became the first player in franchise history to record at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in fewer than 30 minutes (29 minutes, 19 seconds).

The first-time All-Star and reigning Rookie of the Year registered his first career playoff double-double on Thursday. He also became the second-youngest player in history to begin his playoff career with three straight 20-point performances (21 years, 165 days).

“The shot-making — that was pretty special,” Wagner said of Banchero. “Some extremely tough shots, some against two defenders. It makes the game pretty easy for the rest of us.”

The Magic, who were outrebounded by 21 over the first two games, held a 51-32 advantage on the glass in Game 3. They hauled 14 rebounds on the offensive end — compared to five for the Cavaliers — and outscored them 22-9 in second-chance points.

Jarrett Allen, who had a playoff-career-high 20 rebounds in Game 2, led the Cavaliers with 15 points, eight rebounds and one block. Caris LeVert scored 15 points off the bench and Donovan Mitchell added 13 points, seven assists and five rebounds.

The Magic didn’t want to get outrebounded again.

“We knew that was kind of the killer in the first two games,” Banchero said. “We thought we were playing pretty good defense but we’ve been giving up way too many rebounds and getting dominated on the glass. We really wanted to put an emphasis on neutralizing their bigs and keeping them off the boards.”

Orlando will look to keep its momentum heading into Game 4 on Saturday (1 p.m. EDT, TNT). The group understands it can’t get too high off of its win, just like it didn’t get down too low after dropping the first two games of the series.

It appears they will be ready for the challenge.

“(We just have to) stick with it and understand that it is a long game and an even longer series,” Wagner said. “We did our job tonight and we gotta do the same on Saturday and just keep chipping away.”

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Cavs and Magic fans were furious that Game 2 of the playoffs was blacked out locally

Fans had a hard time watching Monday’s Game 2 in Cleveland, which was relegated to NBA TV.

The NBA playoffs are here, and fans are excited to watch their teams try to compete for a championship.

But if you cheer for the Cleveland Cavaliers or Orlando Magic, that was a bit harder to do on Monday night. Unlike the other two postseason games on the slate, that game is only carried on NBA TV, which requires a League Pass subscription to watch.

To make matters worse for fans based out of Cleveland, Orlando or the surrounding areas, the game was also blacked out locally. It was only broadcast by the local Bally Sports networks, which is not included in the packages for YouTube TV and several other carriers.

As you can imagine, not being able to watch a playoff game locally was not particularly well received by fans of both teams, who took to social media to voice their frustrations.

Technical difficulties caused ESPN’s broadcast of Cavaliers – Magic to start without any commentary

Okay, this was pretty surreal.

If you tuned in to watch the Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic play in their first playoff series game on Saturday, you might’ve noticed something strange on the ESPN broadcast.

Right after the ball tipped off, the ESPN audio commentary feed cut out, leaving viewers with just a live broadcast of the game’s opening moments.

It was a bit surreal to just watch the two teams going back-and-forth playing hoops for a bit before ESPN broadcaster Beth Mowins chimed in after the first couple of minutes to explain to the folks at home there were some technical difficulties on their side of things.

While we’re more than glad the audio feed came back so that the broadcast crew could provide their commentary, it was just fascinating to watch NBA basketball without any sort of announcing or commentating going on and just hear the noises of the game and the cheering in the stands.

This does not happen often, so enjoy one of the mpre unique moments we’re going to get this NBA playoffs.

Feature image courtesy of ESPN.

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Darius Garland had a priceless reaction to Caris LeVert’s stellar layup during Magic – Cavaliers

This reaction from Darius Garland was priceless.

During the Eastern Conference first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs, the Cleveland Cavaliers pulled off a fantastic sequence for two points against the visiting Orlando Magic.

On the basket, Cavs guard Darius Garland made a beautiful pass to fellow guard Caris LeVert, who made a falling layup despite tough defense from Magic forward Paolo Banchero and drew a foul in the process.

As Garland went up to LeVert to congratulate him on the play, he made the funniest gesture to express his disbelief in what his teammate pulled off.

Garland’s bewildered celebration really was just as enjoyable to watch as LeVert’s stellar play.

We’ll see how far the four-seed Cavaliers can make it in this year’s Eastern Conference gauntlet, but plays and celebrations like this from LeVert and Garland will keep the team incredibly entertaining for as long as they’re playing.

At the least, this is such a fun highlight so early in this year’s playoffs.

Feature image courtesy of ESPN.

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Watch: Austin Reaves serves up alley-oop pass to LeBron James

Early in the Lakers’ game versus the Cavaliers on Saturday, Austin Reaves and LeBron James teamed up on a spectacular play.

After a successful six-game road trip during which they won five contests, the Los Angeles Lakers returned home and hosted the Cleveland Cavaliers in a rare Saturday afternoon game.

It presented them with a golden opportunity to move up from ninth place in the Western Conference as the regular season winds down. Los Angeles entered Saturday’s game with a 44-33 record, the same mark as the eighth-place Sacramento Kings. It also came in just one game behind the New Orleans Pelicans, who are in seventh place.

The Purple and Gold looked pretty energetic to start the game. On one play, Austin Reaves teamed up with LeBron James on a spectacular alley-oop pass.

Reaves has been gradually racking up more assists as the season has wore on. In March, he averaged 6.6 dimes a game, which is his highest single-month average this season.

Spacing and switching: Rockets adapt to life with Jabari Smith Jr. at center

Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff on the Rockets: “Playing smaller, playing switchable lineups, more five-out spacing, it does make them a little bit of a different team.”

The Rockets aren’t nearly as high powered on offense without injured center Alperen Sengun, and they also lack the physical post presence. With second-year forward Jabari Smith Jr. sliding to center and rookie Amen Thompson taking Smith’s vacated role at forward, however, Houston is suddenly more athletic in the frontcourt.

That dynamic allows head coach Ime Udoka to attempt even more switching on defense, and the presence of a big man with a reliable 3-point shot also provides floor-spacing benefits on offense.

“Jabari being a different pick-and-pop threat is really beneficial, especially against teams that play double bigs, like they do,” Udoka said after Saturday’s dominant win over Cleveland.

The Rockets were plus-22 in Smith’s 32 minutes, best of any player. He had 20 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks while making 8-of-13 shots (61.5%) and 3-of-5 from 3-point range (60%). Thompson added 18 points and 8 rebounds while making 8-of-11 shots (72.7%), most near the rim after offensive rebounds or creation by teammates.

“You try to find different ways to be effective,” said veteran point guard Fred VanVleet, speaking to the post-Sengun offense. “If they put a five and drop on Jabari, you’re going to pick-and-pop. He’s one of our better shooters. You got Amen rolling to the rim. He’s one of our better finishers. He can pass out of that short roll there.”

J.B. Bickerstaff, head coach of the Cavaliers (42-25), seems to have noticed. Here’s what Bickerstaff said of the new-look Rockets, via Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle:

As far as schemes and the team stuff … they’re different now. Playing smaller, playing switchable lineups, more five-out spacing, it does make them a little bit of a different team.

Houston (32-35) has won five straight games and is 7-1 in March. The Rockets look to build on that momentum when they visit Washington (11-55) on Tuesday. The tip is 6 p.m. Central.

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Nets’ Dennis Schroder discusses making life easier for Mikal Bridges

After Sunday’s 120-101 win at the Cleveland Cavaliers, Brooklyn Nets guard Dennis Schroder spoke on how the team can help Mikal Bridges.

The Brooklyn Nets have been intentional of trying to find the next guy to lead the franchise ever since Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving were traded at last season’s deadline. Since then, Brooklyn has been evaluating what they have in guys like Mikal Bridges, a player that seemingly the entire NBA would love to have on their team.

The Nets, with a big performance from Bridges as one of the main reasons, were able to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday 120-101. After having a rough go of it following the All-Star break, Bridges bounced back in a big way at Cleveland as he put up 25 points, five rebounds, five assists, and three steals.

What has been clear this season is that Bridges can be a guy who scores 40 points in a game if the matchup is there, but what makes him one of the more coveted players in the league is his ability to do other things on the floor too. Thursday showed that Bridges can flourish when he has players around him who can handle other aspects of the game so that he can find his rhythm.

Dennis Schroder, one of the players acquired by Brooklyn at this season’s trade deadline, has been one of the guys that makes it easier for Bridges to have the kind of impact on the game that everyone is familiar with. Schroder, after putting up his own good stat line of 17 points, eight assists, and two steals, spoke on what he, and the rest of the team, can do to make things easier for Bridges:

“You (the team) don’t have to put so much pressure on him (Bridges) on the offensive end. I think we got to make it a little easier for him as well. Of course me and June (Dennis Smith Jr.), but I think when he (Bridges) just runs the floor, cutting, his shooting, of course pick-and-rolls. But, it starts for everybody on the defensive end and I think today he started off playing great defense and we helped him on the offensive end as well.”

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Nets’ Mikal Bridges discusses team’s biggest challenge moving forward

After Sunday’s 120-101 win at the Cleveland Cavaliers, Brooklyn Nets guard Mikal Bridges discussed the team’s biggest challenge currently.

The Brooklyn Nets have been through plenty of trying times and situations this season as they try to navigate their way through this transition period for their franchise. At this point of the season, Brooklyn is focused on trying to make up enough ground to get into the Eastern Conference play-in tournament before time runs out.

The Nets did a good job of winning an important game for their playoff hopes as they defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday 120-101 despite being a significant underdog heading into the contest. The Cavaliers were missing Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley for the game, but that didn’t stop Brooklyn from underestimating Cleveland with their season on the line.

After some disappointing losses to some of the worst teams in the NBA over the past week, it looked like the Nets’ season was on its last leg. Now that they took care of business at the Cavaliers, it seems like they have some breathing room.

One factor that stood out in Sunday’s win was the fact that Brooklyn was effective on both ends of the floor instead of just being good on one end. Nets guard Mikal Bridges, who put up 25 points, five rebounds, five assists, and three steals, discussed how the team’s biggest challenge is playing defense when shots aren’t falling:

“That’s what it is, that’s what we got to be. We got to be the team, even if we’re not making shots, to have that energy because everybody can make shots and start playing hard. So, on the nights when they’re not falling, we just got to grind through it and stick together and know like it’s going to come eventually. Just keep getting stops and that’s going to fuel our offense.”

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Nets’ Cam Thomas reacts to improved team energy in win over Cavs

After Sunday’s 120-101 win at the Cleveland Cavaliers, Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas discussed how the team played with more energy.

The Brooklyn Nets had their momentum towards the Eastern Conference play-in tournament stalled after losing to some of the worst teams in the NBA in their last three losses. However, after some renewed energy and effort, Brooklyn showed that they have some fight left in them despite some recent evidence to the contrary.

The Nets picked up a huge win on Sunday as they beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 120-101 in Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse thanks to some huge performances from Cam Thomas and Mikal Bridges. While Thomas came back from his six-game absence due to a right ankle/midfoot sprain with a vengeance with his second game of at least 29 points, Bridges has been struggling as of late.

What made Sunday’s win important for Brooklyn, outside of the usual importance of winning games, was the fact that the Nets played with a force that the team has rarely shown over the past couple of months. Even though the Cavaliers came into the game missing Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Max Strus, Cleveland was still favored in the betting markets by a significant margin, mostly because of how up-and-down Brooklyn has been lately.

After a first half in which the Nets lead just 52-51 heading into halftime, Brooklyn turned things up in the third quarter on the backs of Thomas and Bridges, who each had 11 points in the period. After that, the game was well in hand, and Thomas gave his take on what allowed the Nets to display that kind of dominance:

“It’s our energy and effort, communication. I’m pretty sure what everybody will probably say in the postgame, but you know, I was just talking up more, being more like just talking to the guys, getting them hyped up. Telling them what we need to do to get a win because it’s been a while and plus, we’re in a stage of the season where we have to get wins. So, everybody has to do something they’re not used to and for me, it’s just being communicative like talking to the guys, getting the guys hyped up. So, that really sparked us. So, got to keep it going. Orlando coming up (on Wednesday) so got to keep it going.”

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Should the Boston Celtics be worried about their losing streak?

That the current losing streak — a whole two games, mind you — came against the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Denver Nuggets seems to be getting the goat of more than a few Boston fans.

The Boston Celtics have only had two losing streaks throughout the whole of the NBA’s 2023-24 season, one in November and another just now. Normally, this would be the sort of thing that fans of most ball clubs in the league would be ecstatic over.

But the fact that the current losing streak — a whole two games, mind you — came against the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Denver Nuggets seems to be getting the goat of more than a few Boston fans. With the best record not only in the Eastern Conference but either the East or West, it seems those about to hit the panic button may be going a bit overboard.

The folks over at WEEI’s “Greg Hill Show” weighed in on the losses, and asked whether we ought to be worried about Boston.

Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear their concerns.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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