Cavaliers, Magic Game 1 Instant Reaction: Takeaways From Cleveland's 97-83 Win

Cleveland threw the first punch in their best-of-seven series, taking game one of their series over the Magic.

Apr 12, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) reacts in the / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

The Cavaliers talked all week about making sure last year's embarrassing playoff loss to the Knicks wasn't in vein as they prepared to host the Magic in the first-round of the postseason one year later.

It wasn't just talk. Against an inexperienced Orlando team, Cleveland made a point in coming out as the aggressors in Game One. It paid off, jumping out to a 19-8 lead and never looking back en route to a 97-83 win. They led wire-to-wire and now boast a 1-0 series lead because of it.

Here are five takeaways from the Cavs statement Game 1 win.

1) Throwing the first punch

The Cavs opened up the game by knocking down back-to-back threes from Max Strus and Donovan Mitchell and just like that, it was on. Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse really came to life after Evan Mobley knocked down back-to-back threes in the first stanza. At the 7:36 mark of the quarter, Cleveland was shooting a blistering 100% from three. Mitchell had two. Mobley had two, Strus had one and the Cavaliers had a 19-8 lead that quickly forced an Orlando timeout.

2) Donovan Mitchell Looking Spry

Mitchell told the media earlier int he week that he was “100%.” It seemed like he was putting on his best poker face though. Even if he isn’t totally back to full health, it was hard to tell on Saturday.

Mitchell looked as spry as he has in weeks leading the Cavaliers. He knocked down two quick threes in the first quarter, made some athletic plays attacking the basket and let the entire arena know just how healthy he was feeling with an emphatic breakaway dunk toward the end of the first quarter. The week off clearly did him some good. The All-Star guard finished with 30 points, on 11-of-21 shooting.

3) Boys will be boys

There was a sequence early on in the second quarter that may have defined the game for Cleveland. First, Mo Wagner delivered a hard foul to Evan Mobley while going for an offensive rebound that left Mobley sprawling into the side of the basket. That sparked a lively reaction from Isaac Okoro as he exchanged pleasantries with Wagner and received a tech. It was the first sort of public statement from Cleveland that they weren’t going to be pushed around.

A couple sequences later, Magic guard Markelle Fultz laid a shoulder into Georges Niang on a breakaway play that also drew a foul and the ire of the Cavs bench. Niang got up in Fultz face, he received a tech as well but Fultz foul was upgraded to a flagrant, sending Niang to the line. In the span of about 90 seconds the Cavs sent a message that they weren’t going to get punk’d like a year ago against the Knicks.

For what it's worth, the chippiness continued throughout the game, which should set the stage for a pretty emotionally charged series the rest of the way. Something to keep an eye on.

4. Live by the 3, Die by the 3

Remember that aforementioned three point barrage that the Cavs opened the game with? Those five three wound up being the only three they made wound up being their only made three pointers until the fourth quarter. That’s right, through three quarters Cleveland was shooting a miserable 21.7% from deep.

Darius Garland quickly stopped the bleeding with a three to open up the fourth. Ultimately though, the Cavs finished the game shooting just 26.7-percent from beyond the arc. Remarkable they still won by 14, which speaks to how they were able to create offense elsewhere. It’s unlikely they stay that cold from outside this entire series so to dominate without that shot working is telling.

5. Third Quarter Woes

The third quarter has been a bugaboo for the Cavs this year. During the regular season they posted a a third quarter offensive rating of 114.9, which ranks 10th worst in the NBA. They're also just outside the bottom third of the league in turnover percentage in the third stanza. Something about coming out of the break and keeping the intensity up has been a problem for this team.

Against Orlando, Cleveland took a 12 point lead into the break, then only scored seven points over the first seven-and-a-half minutes of the third quarter and watched the Magic climb within four, 60-56. Cleveland had a game-high six turnovers in the quarter as well. Fortunately, the Cavs have Donovan Mitchell. Around the 4:30 mark he started taking it upon himself to get to basket and got the offense flowing again. They wound closing the quarter on a 13-2 run.