Magic battle but fall short at Cavaliers for 6th straight loss

The Orlando Magic were always facing an uphill battle entering Tuesday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Arena.

For starters, Cleveland had two days of rest while Orlando was playing on the second night of a back-to-back.

In addition, Jamahl Mosley‘s squad was without Jalen Suggs (illness), Anthony Black (left lateral abdominal strain), Franz Wagner (left high ankle sprain injury management) and Jonathan Isaac (left knee sprain) on the road.

So it wasn’t surprising when Cleveland pulled away late against a short-handed and fatigued opponent en route to a 136-131 victory behind a combined 68 points from Donovan Mitchell (42) and James Harden (26) in a high-scoring affair.

To Orlando’s credit, however, the group fought hard despite its circumstances and found itself ahead by as many as seven points in the first half, within two of the Cavs in the third quarter and down just three points in the fourth after falling behind by double figures.

Ultimately, however, Cleveland (45-27) notched 105 points through three quarters by outshooting Orlando from the floor (60% vs. 49% FG) and controlling the fastbreak (14-6 scoring edge) to win its fourth consecutive contest.

Dropping their sixth in a row, the Magic (38-34) return home to host the Sacramento Kings at Kia Center on Thursday.

Banchero’s big night

Banchero notched nine of Orlando’s first 19 points and scored 16 in the opening quarter after one stretch where he recorded seven in a row.

Posting 21 points by halftime, Banchero was quick to find his spots with turnaround jumpers and aggressive downhill attacks that led to multiple trips to the free throw line. Shooting 7 for 8 at the charity stripe before the break, he finished 13 for 15.

He scored 30-plus points in a second consecutive game and for the 12th time this season. Although he grabbed six rebounds with five assists, he turned the ball over five times as well.

Rest of starters

Desmond Bane hit his first 3-pointer on Orlando’s opening possession and scored 12 in the first half. He was Orlando’s only other starter to reach double figures after two quarters before he finished with 17.

Making his first start in a Magic uniform and just the second of his NBA career, Jamal Cain also sunk his first triple and totaled 17 points while converting all six of his free throw attempts. He did a little bit of everything with multiple efforts on the glass, recording six rebounds with three assists.

Tristan da Silva hit a trio of triples to notch 18 points but he missed a 3-pointer with the team down five points and only eight seconds left in the game.

Wendell Carter Jr. found himself in foul trouble when he picked up two fouls in the first four minutes of the third quarter and earned his fourth of the night at the 7:41 mark of the frame. He fouled out in the final moments of the game, ending with 15 points and five rebounds.

Paint points

Ten of Cleveland’s first 15 points were scored in the paint and it jumped out to a 16-0 scoring advantage in that area of the court.

Orlando didn’t score in the paint until Goga Bitadze made a short shot with 1:14 left in the first quarter. The Magic were able to score 14 points in the paint during the second quarter, but Cleveland still held a 32-16 edge at the half.

After scoring 64 points in the paint on Monday against the Indiana Pacers, Orlando outscored the Cavs 62-38 in the paint at Cleveland.

Help from Carter

Jevon Carter beat the buzzer with a corner 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter and notched 10 points in the first half.

Finding his spots on the court with various jump shots, the veteran guard shot 6 for 12 from the floor and ended as the lone Orlando reserve to finish in double figures with 15 points alongside four rebounds and three assists.

Moe Wagner, who was a healthy scratch the past two games, didn’t enter the game until the start of the fourth quarter and quickly scored four points. But he only played five minutes in the final frame.

Jett Howard (five points) and Bitadze (four) were the only other members of Orlando’s bench to score.

Rookie watch

Second-round pick Noah Penda picked up two fouls within two minutes of stepping onto the court late in the first quarter. After earning his third foul less than three minutes into the second quarter, the French forward was benched.

First-round pick Jase Richardson didn’t see the floor.

Magic battle but fall short at Cavaliers for 6th straight loss

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