Los Angeles (AFP) – The Orlando Magic, with 32 points from Franz Wagner and a dominant second half, thrashed the Cleveland Cavaliers 112-89 on Saturday to level their NBA Eastern Conference playoff series at 2-2.
The Cavs, who were blown out by the Magic in game three at Orlando, scored just 29 points after the interval as the Magic erased a nine-point halftime deficit and relentlessly pulled away.
With Magic star Paolo Banchero struggling to just nine points and four rebounds, Germany’s Wagner filled the void, grabbing 13 rebounds with four assists and a blocked shot.
The Magic’s suffocating defense made Cleveland’s offense disappear in the second half, when the Cavs went more than six minutes without scoring.
Orlando took full advantage, ripping through a 31-5 scoring run that carried them to a 92-70 lead early in the fourth quarter before Caris LeVert ended the Cavs’ drought with a jump shot.
But LeVert was one of several Cavs to endure a tough shooting night, connecting on two of eight attempts on the way to five points.
Jarrett Allen led Cleveland with 21 points and nine rebounds with Cavs star Donovan Mitchell finishing with 18 points.
“Our guys made the right adjustments,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said of his team’s big second half.
“(They) realized it was about the body and ball movement, sharing it, moving it, trusting the pass,” Mosley said, calling their defensive effort “special.”
The series returns to Cleveland for game five on Tuesday.
In Saturday’s other games, Western Conference top seeds Oklahoma City took a 2-0 series lead into game three against the Pelicans at New Orleans.
The Miami Heat sought to follow up their game-two upset victory in Boston with a home win against the Celtics in game three while the Los Angeles Lakers, down 0-3 and facing elimination, hosted the reigning champion Denver Nuggets.
© 2024 AFP
