Magic History in Game 7: How Has Orlando Fared?

The Orlando Magic forced the fourth Game 7 in franchise history with their Game 6 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

May 3, 2024; Orlando, Florida, USA; Orlando Magic guard Jalen Suggs (4) passes the ball / Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports

ORLANDO — It's the two best words in all of sports.

Game 7.

The Orlando Magic forced Game 7 in the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs with their 103-96 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday at the Kia Center. Now, Orlando and Cleveland will clash with their playoff lives on the line in Game 7 on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

"This is the moment that you play for," Mosley said. "[It's] why you do it. You do it for these moments. Being on the road, Game 7, the ability to come together to continue to grow in each game, I think that's what this group is looking forward to. Lay it all out there, lay it all on the line.

Mosley added: "It's not going to be easy, nor do we want it to be easy. That's what this group has always embraced all year long. The harder it is, the better we will be."

For Orlando, it'll be the fourth Game 7 the franchise has played in. In their first three Game 7's, the Magic have gone 2-1, including a 101-82 win on the road in their last appearance in such game in 2009 over the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Playoffs to reach the NBA Finals. After the Magic's lead was cut to five heading into the fourth quarter, they pulled away for good by outscoring Boston 35-21.

Hedo Turkoglu had a double-double with 25 points and 12 assists, and Dwight Howard followed suit with 12 points and 16 rebounds and he had five blocks.

In their second Game 7, the Magic fell on the road to the Detroit Pistons 108-93 in the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs in 2003. Detroit controlled throughout, outscoring Orlando in each of the first three quarters to lead by 21 points heading into the fourth.

In Orlando's first Game 7 and the only one at home, it earned a dominant 101-85 win over the Reggie Miller-led Indiana Pacers to earn the first NBA Finals berth in franchise history in 1995. Hall of Fame center Shaquille O'Neal had a double-double with 25 points and 11 rebounds, and the rest of Orlando's starting lineup scored in double-figures.

Cleveland has gone 5-2 in Game 7's, the latest of which came in 2018 when LeBron James led it to an 87-79 road win over the Celtics in 2018 to clinch a berth in the NBA Finals. The Cavs have won their last three and have gone 3-0 at home in Game 7.

Last postseason, there were three Game 7's including one in the first round of the playoffs. The Golden State Warriors and Miami Heat won as the road team in two of the matchups, while Boston was the only home team to win a Game 7.

While road teams going 2-1 last year in Game 7's is promising, the home team has won every game thus far in this series, giving Cleveland the slight edge heading into Sunday. However, even with the deck being stacked against the Magic, they've already had to overcome a lot after digging themselves out of a 2-0 hole to force a Game 7.

And given everything it has taken for Orlando to get to this point, Jalen Suggs wouldn't change a thing heading into Sunday.

"We're going to be able to share these moments that we went through this together," Suggs said. "Things like that get me excited [and] things like that motivate me. I can't wait to go get out there playing Cleveland [in a] hostile environment, one where we haven't won one yet [and] where all the odds are stacked against us.

"I don't think none of us would have it any other way."

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