Donovan Mitchell leads Cleveland Cavaliers to Game 7 win over Magic to reach Conference semi-finals

The Cavs will play first-seed Boston Celtics, who defeated the Miami Heat in five (4-1), in the second round after beating the Magic in Game 7.

The Cavs trailed by 18 in the first half and were facing a loss that likely would have resulted in firings and a reshuffle, having lost in the first round last year also.

Donovan Mitchell went 3-for-13 before the third quarter, then exploded in the second half, notching up 39 points in a Herculean performance. 17 of those points came in the third quarter where the Cavs turned the tide, outscoring the Magic by 18 and taking advantage of the side’s post-season inexperience.

The five-time NBA All-Star was quick to praise the Magic after the game, saying: “First of all, I want to give the credit to the Magic, man. They’ve got some dawgs over there.

“Jamahl Mosley is a phenomenal coach. Paolo Banchero is going to be a monster. Much respect to them. This wasn’t easy," added Mitchell.

Banchero scored 38 points, and despite it being in a losing effort, capped off an incredible performance in his first playoff series, averaging 25.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. 

His supporting cast was unable to back him up on the road, however. Franz Wagner went 1-for-15 from the field and finished with just six points. Jalen Suggs went 2-for-13 with 10 points

Orlando’s bench contributed just 21 points between them.

For Cleveland, Caris LeVert added 15 points and Evan Mobley was strong on the boards grabbing 16 rebounds. Mobley’s defence was key in stopping the Magic before Mitchell’s shooting improved.

Cleveland advance to face Boston in the Eastern Conference semi-finals.

It will be the fourth playoff series between the two in the past 10 years, with the Cavs winning the previous three in 2015, 2017 and 2018.

Of course, LeBron James is no longer a Cavalier, and Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have bloomed from promising talents into All-Star calibre stars for the Celtics.

Boston will host the first two games of the series at TD Garden, starting on Tuesday, May 7, before things shift to Cleveland.

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