There are two words that any true sports fan loves to hear: Game Seven.
With both sides facing a do-or-die scenario after competing in a back-and-forth series, the stakes and the emotions are nearly always at an all-time high.
For a young team like the Orlando Magic that will not only face that scenario, but also have to do it on the road, it’s an environment that’s impossible to replicate and an arduous task to take on.
However, the Magic (3-3) are ready to embrace that challenge when they visit the Cleveland Cavaliers (3-3) on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET for a first-round series Game 7 showdown.
“This is the moment that you play for,” said Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley. “(It’s) why you do it. We do it for these moments. So, being on the road, Game 7, the ability to come together, (and) continue to grow in each game, that’s what this group is looking forward to. Lay it all out there. Lay it on the line. One opportunity. These guys will all embrace that, knowing what they’re capable of doing. 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.”
The up-and-coming Magic put their poise on display in Game 6, as they staved off elimination with valiant group effort in a 103-96 home victory. They managed to survive a 50-point effort from Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell by coming up with key stops and clutch plays down the stretch.
“I loved it,” said Magic guard Jalen Suggs, who posted 22 points. “I think all series long we’ve done a great job of staying so poised. We’ve responded to every run they’ve made, every game they’ve won, every punch they’ve thrown and anything they’ve done to try to throw us off of our game (and) knock us off balance. We’ve responded to it, we’ve acknowledged it, and we’ve stayed centered and together. I think (Game 6) was another example of that. It was back and forth all night. We knew that was a game we had to go take, (and) knew we didn’t want to end it here.”
Orlando will have to lean on that experience if it wants to be the first team in this series to win on the road. While the Magic have been sensational at Kia Center, they’ve come up short at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. However, Orlando showed strides on the road in Game 5. And in Game 6, it proved that its group could remain poised in a do-or-die scenario. That gives the Magic confidence going into a critical Game 7.
“Going down 0-2 early (in the series), we figured that if we wanted to win, it would probably have to be in seven,” said Magic All-Star forward Paolo Banchero. “I’m excited. It’s a do-or-die situation. We’re going to have to put together another special effort.”
In an ideal world, that offensive effort would look a lot like Game 6. The Magic’s Banchero, Suggs, and Franz Wagner all put up 22 points or more, and in the process became one of just three trios in NBA history – with each member being under 23 years old – to all score 20-plus points in a single playoff game. Per StatMuse, they join the trios of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden, and Durant, Westbrook and Serge Ibaka.
“It’s always cool when you’re mentioned in the same sentence as guys like that,” said Wagner. “The whole group, the whole team, us three, we’re working extremely hard. We like each other. We like to play with each other. So, it’s almost another motivation to keep the season going and (get) another chance to play together. That’s how I looked at it before the game. That said, we have a big one on Sunday. Hopefully, we can do that again.”
Defensively, while the Magic did a great job of defending the 3-point line, they’ll need to be better in Game 7 at limiting the Cavs’ points in the paint. Cleveland outscored Orlando 66-38 in that area in Game 6.
“They have a lot of guys who can shoot, and that’s (what can) hurt us,” said Banchero. “If they got hot behind the three. In Game 5 they hit 13 threes, and we lost by one. So, we wanted to guard the 3-point line. I don’t think our plan (in Game 6) was to give up that many points in the paint. But a three is worth more than two. We know that eventually, we’ll be able to protect that rim.”
KEY STATS: In the Magic’s Game 6 win, Wagner scored 26 points and went a perfect 11-for-11 from the charity stripe. In the process, he set a new team playoff record for most free throws made without a miss.
The old mark was 9-for-9, which was set by Tracy McGrady on Apr. 22, 2001 at Milwaukee.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “That’s super cool. That’s what you work for, not just as an NBA player, but as a little kid. Those are the games you grow up watching. But I just want to win the game. That’s what my main focus is. So, we only have one day to recover and then back to it.” – Wagner on Game 7
IN AND OUT: Both teams’ injury reports are not yet submitted.