WRAP-UP
Saturday’s contest wasn’t exactly a thing of beauty. But for a Cavaliers team looking to snap a five-game skid on the eve of a three-game trip, it didn’t have to be.
In the final game of a four-game homestand, the Wine and Gold opened up a double-digit lead in the third quarter and pulled away in the fourth – dropping the struggling Magic, 105-92, at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
The Cavaliers celebrated the reunion of their starting frontline, with prized rookie Evan Mobley returning from a four-game absence with an elbow injury. And his presence proved to make an immediate impact – the Magic shot just 40 percent from the floor, were outrebounded, 51-43, and outscored in paint, 50-42.
For his part, Mobley shook off some early rust to finish with 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting, including 2-of-4 from deep, adding nine boards, three assists and four of Cleveland’s nine blocked shots on the night. It was the third time this season the former USC standout has swatted four shots in a game.
After a back-and-forth first quarter, the Cavaliers took a slight lead in the second and never relinquished it – snapping a seven-game losing skid to the Magic and extending their current skein to six games.
Darius Garland led both teams with a season-high 26-point effort, going 11-for-21 from the floor, including 3-of-7 from deep, adding a game-high 11 assists in the win.
Jarrett Allen notched his third straight double-double – and eighth in his last 10 outings – notching 19 points and a team-best 11 boards, going 8-of-9 from the field, adding three assists and a pair of blocks.
Lauri Markkanen finished with 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including 4-of-8 from beyond the arc, adding five boards in 32 minutes of work.
Cedi Osman rounded out the Cavaliers in double-figures for the fourth straight game off the bench – chipping in with 10 points and six boards, going 2-for-6 from deep, adding a steal and a block.
All five Magic starters netted double-figures, but their high man was Wendell Carter Jr., who finished with 19 points and 11 boards before being ejected for throwing his goggles arguing a foul call with just over two minutes to play in regulation.
Miss any of the action? Find all the highlights and photos in the Game Tracker.
FEATURED HIGHLIGHT
Darius Garland hits a 3-pointer from near half-court.
TURNING POINT
The shorthanded Magic were coming off a 35-point drubbing the previous night in Chicago and it didn’t take a big push to get over the hump on Saturday.
Leading by five points at the half, the Wine and Gold scored the first five points of the second stanza and used an 11-3 run to lead by a baker’s dozen at the 8:31 mark of the period. Orlando would cut Cleveland’s lead to six later in the third and ended the quarter down nine.
But the Cavs opened up a 10-point lead midway through the fourth on Darius Garland’s floater and the Magic wouldn’t get withing single-digits the rest of the way.
BY THE NUMBERS
By the Numbers - 21.9, 6.6 … Darius Garland’s scoring and assist averages over the last nine games since Collin Sexton went down with a knee injury.
Garland, who became the fourth-youngest Cavalier to reach 2,000 career points on Saturday night, has topped the 20-point plateau in four of his last five outings and on six occasions over that nine-game stretch – shooting 44 percent from the floor, 83 percent from the stripe while handing out 11 assists in two of the last three games.
QUOTABLE
Coach J.B. Bickerstaff, on his team’s effort in Saturday’s win over Orlando …
”I thought our guys came out of halftime ready to go. In that first half, our intensity wasn’t at the level where we’ve been accustomed to – and the guys felt that as well. So, defensively we got after it. And I think we did a great job defensively in that second half and being able to find leads and then build on leads, that was a good step for us.”
CALLS OF THE GAME
Enjoy the best broadcast calls of the night from Cavaliers Radio Network's Tim Alcorn and Rafa Hernandez-Brito from Power 89.1.
UP NEXT
After dropping the Magic on Saturday night – wrapping up a stretch of eight home games in the last nine and a four-game homestand – the Wine and Gold hit the road for the next three, beginning with a Monday night meeting with Luka Doncic and the Mavs in Dallas.
On Wednesday night, the Cavaliers try to snap a 20-game losing streak on South Beach when they travel to Miami for a battle with Jimmy Butler and the Heat before wrapping up the three-game mini-trip next Friday night against Bradley Beal and the Wizards in D.C.