Cavaliers, Magic Game 3 Instant Reaction: Takeaways From Cleveland's 104-103 Win

The Cavaliers held off Orlando to take a 3-1 series lead.

Apr 30, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Max Strus (1) defends Orlando Magic / Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

There was a tenseness inside Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse walking around the concourse pregame. Fans in attendance knew that Game 5 against the Orlando Magic had potential franchise-altering stakes for Cleveland. A loss, would guarantee a massive shakeup this offseason from the front office on down.

The night began with some ominous news for the Cavs, as Jarrett Allen was ruled out with a rib injury sustained in Game 4. It wound up not mattering as a number of Cavaliers players stepped up in his absence to help lift the Cavs to victory.

Here are 5 takeaways from a ____ win by the Wine and Gold on Tuesday night:

1) The Block 2.0

Okay, this is hyperbole. But there was something very fitting about the game being theoretically sealed by an Evan Mobley block of Franz Wagner in the closing seconds. And it was one of the most incredible plays you'll ever see, as Mobley was beat on the play and got back into it to deny Wagner at the rim. Simply incredible, it's worth another watch.

2) Starting Hot

The Cavs faced some early adversity when Donovan Mitchell picked up a second foul just 6 minutes into the game. As he took a seat, Bickerstaff got creative in trying to survive the opening stanza without his best player by deploying lineups that included Tristan Thompson, Sam Merrill and Marcus Morris.

It was Garland though who picked up the slack in Mitchell's absence. The 24-year-old point guard played all 12 minutes of the opening quarter, scoring more than half of Cleveland's 33 points with 17. That figure marks a career-high for Garland in a single quarter in a postseason game. It was also the second most points he's scored in a opening-quarter in the regular season or playoffs during his career.

Without Mitchell, the Cavs needed his spurt. They ended the quarter on a 17-6 run, with Garland scoring 9. He followed up the red hot quarter by putting up a goose egg in the second quarter and went on to finish with 23 points.

3) No Niang

For everyone wanting to see Bickerstaff make an adjustment, one of the most notable changes in Game 5 was skipping over Georges Niang in the rotation. During that stretch where Mitchell sat because of the two early fouls, Caris LeVert, Morris, Thompson and Merrill were all brought into the game before Niang. He didn't play a single minute on Tuesday. Sometimes certain guys are just bad matchups in a specific series.

4) The Strus Is Finally Loose

Max Strus was the Cavaliers big offseason investment for moments like Game 5. But he entered the night shooting a miserable 17-percent from deep for the series. On a night where Mitchell was battling foul trouble, the Cavs needed other players to step up and Strus finally came through.

What started as another rough night for the 28-year-old (he was one-for-five with two points at halftime) quickly turned into a three-point Cavalanche in the third quarter. Strus knocked down his first three of the night a mere 1:08 into the quarter, then went on to add 8 more points, including two more three pointers.

Per usual, Strus made himself impactful in other ways, with two steals, five boards and five assists. That three point barrage plus the one he hit with about 3:30 to go in the game to give the Cavs a 97-95 lead were critical to lifting the Cavs to victory.

5) Closer

As mentioned earlier, Marcus Morris was due up in the rotation before the likes of Niang. Not only that, but Bickerstaff left him out there to close things out alongside Mitchell, Garland, Evan Mobley and Strus. Morris made Bickerstaff look smart for the decision too.

Morris hit a couple of huge shots throughout the game, but non bigger than a 24-footer from the left wing with five minutes to play that tied the game at 90. Orlando was on a bit of run and that shot pumped some life back into Cleveland's offense and the arena. He finished the game with 12 points but his impact went well beyond the box score.