*** Through the first two games of their First Round matchup, the Wine & Gold haven’t given the Magic a single ray of hope, smothering them from the opening tip once again to jump out to a 2-0 series lead – cruising the to the 96-86 wire-to-wire win on Monday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Defensively, Cleveland allowed Orlando to shoot just 36 percent from the floor, 26 percent from long-range, and got an even scoring effort offensively – led by Jarrett Allen’s second double-double of the series.
*** The Cavaliers have been simply dominant on the offensive end through the first two games of the series. Overall, the Magic shot just 36 percent from the floor, have connected on just 17 combined three-pointers on 72 attempts and, outside of Mo Wagner, have gotten almost nothing from their second unit. The elder Wagner is 9-for-16 from the floor through the first two games of the series; the rest of Orlando’s bench is a combined 3-of-29.
*** The Magic haven’t led at any point during the series. On Monday night, they tied the affair at 10-apiece midway through the first quarter, and that’s as good as it would get. Cleveland led by a dozen after one period and by as many as 17 just before intermission. The Cavs improved their edge to as many as 22 points early in the fourth quarter before Orlando made a small push late in the affair.
*** Jarrett Allen’s incredible run started in mid-December and hasn’t slowed down since, with the 8th-year man notching another monster double-double – fifth of his Playoff career – finishing with 16 points and a game-high 20 rebounds, nine off the offensive glass. On the night, Allen was 6-of-10 from the floor and 8-of-9 from the stripe, adding three assists, a pair of steals and a game-high three blocks.
*** Allen – who’s averaging 16.0 points and 19.0 boards through the first two games of the series – became just the third Cavalier in team history – joining Brad Daugherty (20) and Kevin Love (21) – to grab over 20 boards in a postseason contest.
*** Coach J.B. Bickerstaff praised his prized big man following Monday’s victory. “He's been phenomenal, understanding what is necessary and then going, doing whatever he can to impact it. We knew that this series was going to be a tough one in the interior. We knew that we were going to have to do a great job on the boards on back-to-back nights. He's taken it upon himself to make sure we win that battle. We're not here without his effort.”
*** Once again, Donovan Mitchell led both teams in scoring – tallying 23 points on 9-of-22 shooting, adding eight boards, four assists, a steal and a block in the win. After topping the 20-point mark just twice after the All-Star Break, Mitchell has gone for 20-plus in each of his last four outings, regular and postseason.
*** Always the perfectionist, Mitchell voiced some concerns about Cleveland struggling offensively over the final quarter on Monday. “I think there's a level that we can continue to improve at. I think the fourth, last eight, seven minutes or so can't happen. We're fortunate we got the win. We did a lot of good things, but the challenge is we have to fix that. It starts with me. I hold myself to that standard and those last six, seven, eight minutes were on me. I’ve got to do my job. And obviously I scored when I needed to and made the right play or whatever. But that can't happen.”
*** Evan Mobley had another solid outing, finishing with 17 points on 5-of-13 shooting, adding seven boards, a steal and a blocked shot. Darius Garland also notched double-figure scoring among Cleveland’s starters – doing most of his work in the second half again, netting 12 of his 15 points after intermission.
*** Garland talked about the series moving to the Magic Kingdom. “We're really confident, but we know they're going to try to come out super-fired up, especially with the fan base behind them. We need to just be us. You're not really worried about them, just try to continue to be better and play Cavaliers basketball.”
Ice Gets Hot in the Second!
*** Isaac Okoro was the only Cavalier reserve in double-figures, notching 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting, while also leading both teams with a career Playoff-high four steals.
*** Paolo Banchero led the Magic in scoring once again, finishing with 21 points on 9-of-20 shooting. But once again, Cleveland’s defense flummoxed Orlando’s young All-Star forcing him into six more turnovers on Monday night and giving him 15 miscues through the first two games of the series.
*** After smushing the Magic on Monday night, the series shifts to the Sunshine State for the next two – with Game 3 slated for Thursday night followed by a Saturday afternoon showdown for Game 4. If necessary, the series would return to Cleveland for Game 5 next Tuesday night, go back to Orlando the following Friday for Game 6 and return back here at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse next Sunday if the series goes the duration.