Magic Offense Struggles Mightily in Game 1 Loss vs. Cavs

The Orlando Magic had arguably their worst offensive performance of the season in their Game 1 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers to kickstart the 2024 NBA Playoffs.

Jeremy Brener | Apr 20, 2024

Apr 20, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland (10) reaches for the / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

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CLEVELAND — The Orlando Magic are going back to the drawing board after a 97-83 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday afternoon inside RocketMortgage Fieldhouse.

The Magic were welcomed to the playoffs with a rude awakening amidst the Cleveland crowd and the team found itself down early after the Cavs made their first five 3-pointers.

Eventually, the Magic defense was able to catch up, and they held the Cavs to just two more 3-pointers for the rest of the afternoon. However, the offense remained sluggish throughout the game.

As a team, the Magic shot 32.6 percent from the field and an abysmal 21.6 percent from beyond the 3-point line. The team also struggled at the charity stripe, making just 19 of 30 free throws.

Paolo Banchero led the way for the Magic with a team-high 24 points. Franz Wagner, Jonathan Isaac and Moe Wagner joined him in double figures.

For the Cavs, Donovan Mitchell led all scorers with 30 points while Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen each notched a double-double.

The Magic showed flashes of a team that is capable of competing in the playoffs, especially on the defensive end. However, if they can't make their shots, they could find themselves down and out of this series very quickly.

The Magic and Cavs are back in action for Game 2 of the series on Monday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.

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Published Apr 20, 2024

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.