If you’ve ever doubted the importance of home-court advantage in the NBA, you need not look any further than this first-round playoff series to change your mind.
Not only has the home team won every contest through four games, but every victory has been by double digits.
After the Cleveland Cavaliers took Games 1 and 2 by an average of 12 points per outing, the Orlando Magic responded at Kia Center claiming Games 3 and 4 with an average margin of victory of 30.5 points per contest. In the process, Orlando became the first team in NBA history to trail a series 0-2 and then win Games 3 and 4 by a combined 60-plus points.
Now, the Magic will attempt to put an end to that trend when they head up to Cleveland for a Game 5 showdown with the Cavaliers on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET.
“We are coming off two wins, so obviously, we feel good,” said Magic All-Star forward Paolo Banchero. “But we do know we haven’t won (in Cleveland) in the first two games. So, we’re going to have to really come together as a group and do what we can to win the next one.”
Orlando is well aware of what it will take to pull off that type of feat. In its first two contests in Cleveland, slow starts and turnovers plagued the Magic and allowed the Cavaliers to consistently play with the lead. Orlando gave up 30-plus points in the first quarters of Games 1 and 2 – a mark it did not allow in any other frame – and was outscored by an average of 9.5 points in the opening period.
“That’s what it was; it was their ability to get out on the break, whether that was turnovers or just us missing some shots,” said Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley. “They were able to get early, easy baskets (and) watch the ball go in the hole. That got their crowd into it. That got them into it. They’ve been looking to get off to faster starts. So, our ability to lock in from the beginning of the game without our home crowd being able to generate that energy (is something) we have to be focused on.”
While Orlando will look to accomplish that goal by committee – as it’s done all season long – it would certainly be advantageous if its franchise cornerstones could continue to perform at the level they did in Games 3 and 4.
After Paolo Banchero put on a masterclass in Game 3 with a 31-point, 14-rebound, five-assist and zero-turnover showing, Franz Wagner followed that up with a 34-point, 13-board, four-dime, and zero-turnover display in Game 4.
“That’s what we do,” Banchero explained. “That’s why our teammates look to us to lead the guys because we’re supposed to step up in the biggest games and in the biggest moments. So, I don’t think either one of us felt like it was an out-of-body experience or anything. That’s just what we’re here to do.”
The last time the Magic had different players with consecutive 30-point playoff games was on May 19 and 21 in 1996 against the Chicago Bulls when Penny Hardaway (38) and Shaquille O’Neal (36) hit that mark in back-to-back contests.
KEY STATS: Over the last decade, only three players have recorded a playoff game with 30-plus points, 10-plus rebounds, zero turnovers, and a positive 25 plus-minus rating. Per StatMuse, two of them happen to be Banchero and Wagner, who achieved the feat over just a three-day span.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “We’re not satisfied at all. We just got two wins. We need two more against them, so we’ve got to stay locked in and you know, hopefully get the next game in Cleveland.” – Franz Wagner after Orlando evened the best-of-seven series in Game 4
IN AND OUT: Orlando continues to have a clean bill of health entering Game 5.
For Cleveland, Jarrett Allen (right rib; contusion), Ty Jerome (right ankle; surgery), Craig Porter Jr. (left ankle; sprain), and Dean Wade (right knee; sprain) are out.