Shorthanded Magic Can't Overcome First-Quarter Deficit in Loss to Cleveland

Playing without leading scorer Paolo Banchero and centers Wendell Carter Jr. and Goga Bitadze, the undersized Orlando Magic fell behind by 18 points after the first quarter and lost 120-109 to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) dribbles beside Orlando Magic guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (3) in the third quarter at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. / David Richard-Imagn Images

CLEVELAND – Over the last year or so, the Cavaliers' Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse has been an inhospitable place for the Orlando Magic.

Four losses here in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs ended their 2023-24 season in May.

Friday night, the Magic faced the Cavs for the first time since last year's playoff exit. In a game broadcast nationally on ESPN, Cleveland handed Orlando another loss to forget, 120-109.

Facing a depleted Magic lineup that was missing leading scorer Paolo Banchero and centers Wendell Carter Jr. (right knee tendinitis) and Goga Bitadze (left foot tendon strain), the Cavaliers ran to an 18-point lead after 12 minutes.

The Magic missed all nine three-point attempts in the first quarter. Jett Howard's corner three ended a string of 23 consecutive misses dating back to Wednesday night in Chicago, but Orlando got no closer than 10 points the rest of the way.

The Magic, who expect to be without Banchero for a minimum four to six weeks with a torn oblique, are now 3-3 overall and 0-2 on this five-game road trip.

"I just think we didn't see shots going in early," Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said Friday night. "We got a bunch of open looks, early looks. It led to a lot of fast breaks, long rebounds, and they were able to get out on the break and get a bunch of easy baskets. Now they made some tough ones early on. Credit to them for how they played and the way they're playing ball right now, but we've gotta do better coming out."

Winning in Cleveland was always going to be a tall order. Orlando was shorthanded and frankly just too short without Banchero, Carter Jr., and Bitadze, each of whom is 6-foot-10.

In Banchero's place, second-year guard Anthony Black started for the first time this season, recording seven points and six assists. Jonathan Isaac and Moritz Wagner were Orlando's only bigs to contend with Cleveland's size.

Mosley nevertheless appreciated his team's fight. After that first-quarter blitz, the Magic outscored the Cavs by seven.

"Not hanging their heads and understanding Cleveland was playing some very good basketball," Mosley said. "[We] got it down to 13, close, couple turnovers put it back over the top. But again, these guys never stop fighting, and they won't. That's just who this group is.

"It was great that we came out in the second half and showed that resistance, but we've got to put 48 minutes together in a game."

"I thought after that quarter, we played amazing," Jalen Suggs said, who scored a career-high 28 points to go with eight rebounds and seven assists. "Just gotta continue to get better."

Suggs and Franz Wagner's (17) contributions weren't enough to keep up with the Cavaliers' trio of Darius Garland (25), Donovan Mitchell (22), and Evan Mobley (14, 12 rebounds). But Orlando got a nice boost from Tristan da Silva, who logged his first real rotational minutes, scored his first official NBA bucket, and finished the night with 17 points. On a night with few of them, he was a positive – and comfortable, as he pointed out postgame.

"I just didn’t want to lose here again, to be honest," Suggs said. "I didn’t want to come out of the game because I didn’t even want to face that reality. This hurts. Y’all know I don’t like losing in general. Anyone who knows me, you guys know me, you know I’m competitive."

The Magic couldn't rid themselves of the bad taste this building brings, but the Magic offered glimpses of how they can compete without Banchero.

"Beautiful part of the league is we’re back on [Sunday], then we’re back on [Monday]," Suggs said. "So there’s no time to feel sorry about this one. Get through the night, and once the clock hits midnight, it’s onto the next one.”

Up Next

The Magic's five-game road trip continues Sunday evening in a matchup with the Western Conference Finalists from a season ago, the Dallas Mavericks. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

Related Stories on the Orlando Magic

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