Magic Coach Jamahl Mosley Credits Cavaliers Defense After Game 1 Loss

The Cleveland Cavaliers defense was too much for the Orlando Magic in Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Playoffs.

Jeremy Brener | Apr 20, 2024

Apr 20, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Orlando Magic guard Gary Harris (14) knocks the ball from / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

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Orlando Magic

CLEVELAND — The Orlando Magic picked a bad time to put up their season-worst shooting performance in the team's 97-83 loss in Game 1 of their first round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday afternoon at RocketMortgage FieldHouse.

As a team, the Magic shot 32.6 percent from the field while making just 21.6 percent of their 3-point attempts. The Cavs defense earned praise from Magic coach Jamahl Mosley.

"Cleveland does a great job of packing the paint and they do a great job of flying at shots, but a big portion of this is us continuing to be willing to step into those shots with competence, which our team will continue to do," Mosley said postgame. "Again, it's the little things in this game, because if you look at the statute, there's a lot of similar things going through it. But now it's got to be the little things that take over, it's making your free throws, it's coming up with the 50/50 balls in these situations."

Despite the Magic's struggles shooting the ball, the team was still in the game throughout the entire afternoon. It only became out of reach towards the final few minutes in the fourth quarter. That enough should give the Magic hope that they can crawl back into the series, especially if they are able to make some of those misses they chalked up.

The Magic return to action for Game 2 on Monday against the Cavaliers. 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.