Cavaliers take the Magic out of Orlando 114-98
BY TIM SHIRER
CAVS BEAT WRITER
(CLEVELAND, OH) - Entering Monday night the Cleveland Cavaliers (28-20, 16-11 home) were winners of three straight, 7-3 in their last 10 games and 10-4 in their last 14 contests. They welcomed the Orlando Magic (23-22, 9-13 road) to Rocket Arena. The game was the second of a back-to-back. Game one was in Orlando on Saturday night when the Cavs defeated the Magic at the Kia Center 119-105, it was the first meeting of the season between the two teams this season.
Cleveland held the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference entering the game just two games behind the number two seeded Boston Celtics. The Cavs once again easily took care of the Magic 114-98 with not much resistance from the visitors from Florida.
After a very sluggish start by the two teams the Cavs tied the game 7-7 with 8:55 remining in the opening quarter courtesy of two free throws after getting fouled by Anthony Black. Black responded at the other end by hitting three and then after Jalen Suggs stole the ball from Mitchell, Suggs hit Paolo Banchero who drained a three with 8:20 on the clock giving Orlando a 13-7 lead and forcing Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson to take an early timeout. With 5:01 remaining the Magics lead was cut to 22-18 when Evan Mobley scored his eighth point of the quarter on jumper in the paint as he fell out of bounds. The lead was then cut to 22-20 when Craig Porter, Jr. scored inside with 4:36 left on the clock. With 3:02 left the Orlando lead was back at six when Banchero drained two free throws after being fouled by Mobley. With :58 left on the clock the Cavs were trailing 30-20. With :41.0 Larry Nace, Jr. scored in the paint on an assist from Nae’Qwan Tomlin. When the quarter ended the Cavs trailed by a score of 32-22. Mitchell and Desmond Bane led all scorers with 10 points apiece. Rebounds were even in the opening quarter 12-12.
The issue through one quarter for the Cavs was turnovers as they turned the ball over six times resulting in seven Magic Points. With 9:01 remaining Mitchell scored in the paint on a layup and was fouled by Jase Richardson. Mitchel hit the free throw and the Cavs trailed 40-33. With 7:17 left in the second quarter Magic coach Jamahl Mosley called a time out when the Cavs cut the Orlando lead to 42-39 after Mitchell connected on two consecutive three pointers. With 5:56 left in the first half Dean Wade gave the Cavs a 45-44 lead. With 4:55 remaining and the score tied 47-47 the old inadvertent whistle struck and there was a jump ball. The Cavs won the jump ball but could not score as Tyson was charged with an offensive foul. After some awful rebounding by the Cavs at the other end the Magic scored taking a 49-47 lead with 4:13 left. The Cavs were once again as they had done so many times this season leaving the Magic open for three-point shots and Orlando was taking advantage by hitting their eighth three of the half. The Magic is near the bottom of the league in three pointers made. After an extended period where both teams looked like they didn’t want to score the Cavs took a 56-55 lead with :52 left. The Magic tied the game 56-56 with :44 left when the officials said that Mitchell fouled Banchero and he hit one of two free throws. The Cavs then took a 59-56 after a turnover by the Magic when Tyson drained a three with :27. Mitchell hit a jumper as time ran out after another Orlando turnover to give the Cavs a 61-56 lead. Mitchell led everyone in Cuyahoga County in scoring in the first half with 26 points. Bane led the Magic with 15 points. The Cavs outshot the Magic 60% (25 of 42) to 43% (22 of 51) in the opening half. The Cavs also outshot the Cavs Magic 44% (7 of 16) to 38% (8 of 21).
Thirty second into the second half Orlando’s Wendell Carter, Jr. attempted to rip off Tyson’s arm and not surprising both were accessed technical fouls. With 10:36 left in the third quarter Mitchell drained a three and the Cavs lead was seven points. Then Mitchell put the Cavs up by nine when he drove the lane and scored. When Banchero is fouled it should not be called a foul the player should just be charged with “You went near him, so he gets to shoot shots.” With three minutes gone in the third quarter the big man from Duke already shot 10 free throws. With 8:06 left in the quarter Jarrett Allen scored in the paint giving Cleveland a 76-68 lead. At the 6:00 mark Porter, Jr. hit Tyson and he drained another three to give the Cavs a 79-68 lead. It was Tyson’s second three of the game. Earlier in the evening Tyson was selected to play in the Castrol Rising Stars game at All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles at the Clippers Intuit Dome. The Cavs took an 82-70 lead with 4:48 left in the quarter when Tyson scored in the paint. The Magic responded by outscoring the Cavs 7-2 in the next 1:17 to cut the Cleveland lead to 84-77. Cavs bench boss Kenny Atkinson took a timeout. With 1:17 left on the third quarter clock the Cavs’ lead was back at 12 as Mitchell drove the lane and scored on a finger role, he had 38. Stunningly with 1:06 left Banchero went to the line again for Orlando and not surprisingly he only hit one of the two and the Cavs lead was at 11. After the Lonzo Ball turned the ball over Banchero scored and was touched again resulting in a foul call and after he made the free throw the Cavs lead was 89-81. With :02.5 left on the clock, Tomlin was fouled by Mo Wagner. Tomlin hit both free throws and the Cavs led after three 91-81. Mitchell led all scorers with 38. Banchero and his 13 trips to the free throw line led the Magic with 29 points. The Cavs continued to outshoot the Magic 58% (36 to 62) to 42% (31 of 74). The Cavs had a slight lead on the boards 33-32.
With 7:52 left in the final quarter, the Cavs took a 100-87 lead when Mitchell hit Tyrese Proctor for the three in front of the Magic bench. The three was second of the game in two attempts. With 5:45 remaining, the Magic trimmed the Cavs lead to 102-94 when Tristan da Silva drained a three. With 4:29 left Dean Wade was belted in the face by Wendell Carter, Jr and surprisingly the foul was called on Carter. Wade hit both free throws to give the Cavs a 104-94 lead. With 3:344 left Mitchell hit a pullup jumper to give the Cavs a 106-96 and he had 41 points. It was the fifth time this season that Mitchell had scored 40 or more points in a game. The Cavs then took a 108-96 when Tyson hit two free throws. The Cav put the game away with 1:38 left when Mitchell was fouled by Bane, hit both free throws and led 110-96. When time ran out the Cavs had secured a 114-98 win.
Mitchell led all scorers with 45 points. Mobley had 20 points and 9 rebounds falling one board short of a double double. Tyson also had 14 points and 9 rebounds. Banchero had 37 for the Magic in the loss.
Cleveland shot 53% (42 of 79) from the field while the Magic shot just 40% (38 of 94). The Cavs also outshot the Magic from long range 44% (11 of 25) to 28% (11 of 39). The three-point shooting has been a problem for a couple of years for the Magic. They acquired Bane in the offseason because he has traditionally been very good from beyond the arc but is having the worst season of his career from long range. The Cavs also outrebounded the Magic 45-42.
The Cavs have now won four of their last five regular season meetings with the Magic since eliminating them in the first round of the playoffs in seven games in May of 2024.
Next for the Cavs they host the LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night at 7 pm at Rocket Arena before heading out on a five-game west coast trip.
The Lakers lead the all-time series 70-55, but the Cavaliers do lead at home (Cleveland Arena, Richfield Coliseum, Rocket Arena) 34-28. The Cavs won both meetings last season.
POSTED 01/26/2026 22:02
Lake County Sentinel
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Cavs superstar Donovan Mitchell attempts a shot in his 41 point performance in the Cavs 114-98 win over the Orlando Magic Monday night at Rocket Arena. Photo by Tommy Shirer
