*** After dominating the Magic through the first two games of their First Round matchup, the Wine & Gold had the tables turned them Thursday night – with the Magic running out to a double-digit lead after one quarter and never looking back in a 121-83 drubbing in Orlando. The Cavs, who didn’t trail at any point during Games 1 and 2, shot just 39 percent from the floor and were 8-of-34 from beyond the arc. Only four Cavaliers notched double-figure scoring in the loss, led by Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert, who finished with 15 points apiece.
*** In handing the Wine & Gold their worst postseason loss in team history – (eclipsing a 36-point loss to Washington back in 2008) – the Magic shot 51 percent from the floor, canned 13 triples, and finished with a 51-32 advantage on the boards, including a 14-5 edge on the offensive glass. Paolo Banchero, who’d been held in check through the first two games, led both teams with 31 points and 14 rebounds.
*** Coach J.B. Bickerstaff on Thursday’s one-sided loss. “We did a good job early defensively, but let them get multiple looks at it. You allow them to catch a rhythm, start to feel the boost. You knew they were going to come out and play hard, but it was the first quarter where they set the tone, and then we were chasing them, and we couldn’t find it.”
*** Jarrett Allen had an efficient 24 minutes of action on the offensive end – going 5-of-6 from the floor and 5-of-5 from the stripe for 15 points, leading Cleveland with eight boards.
Jarrett Allen | Cavs at Magic, Game 3 Post Game | 4.25.2024
*** J.A. lamented Thursday’s slow start in Orlando. “I felt like they came out ready to attack. We felt like we were a step behind in every single thing that they did, whether it was them driving to the rim, me standing in the paint, or just rebounding the ball. We were just a little slow.”
*** Caris LeVert led Cleveland’s reserves and notched his first double-digit performance of the postseason, finishing with 15 points on 5-of-13 shooting, adding three assists, two boards and a block in 29 minutes of work off the bench.
*** After netting 20-points-plus in each of his last four outings, Donovan Mitchell struggled on Thursday night – finishing with 13 points on 6-of-16 shooting, including 1-of-6 from deep, leading Cleveland with seven assists in the loss.
*** Mitchell talked postgame about what Cleveland needs to do for Game 4 on Saturday. “Come out with aggression. The good thing about this is it's a series, we come back and get ready on Saturday – but come out with aggression, set the tone. That's pretty much it. It's really black and white, to be honest. Credit them. They protected their home court, they did their job. But we’ve got to do ours. We’ve got to be ready for Saturday.”
*** Evan Mobley was the only other Cavalier in double-figures, finishing with 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting, grabbing a pair of boards and leading both teams with three blocks.
*** After falling on Thursday night, the series stays in central Florida for Game 4 on Saturday afternoon. The series then returns to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse for Game 5 next Tuesday night, back to Orlando next Friday for Game 6 and back to Cleveland next Sunday if the series extends to a Game 7.