After a see-saw end to the regular season, the Wine & Gold can finally focus on a First Round opponent – the Orlando Magic.
The Cavs-Magic series tips off on Saturday, with times and the remainder of the schedule to be set after the Play-In results are in. Philadelphia (7) hosts Miami (8) at 7pm on Wednesday night; the Hawks (10) travel to Chicago (9) for the nightcap at 9:30.
In the East, the only other First Round series that’s set is Milwaukee (3) vs. Indiana (6), which tips off on Saturday. (Keep an eye on that game ball.) Out West, the Timberwolves (3) take on the Suns (6) and the Clippers (4) face off against the Mavs (5).
Last year, the Wine & Gold made their postseason return after a four-year absence -- falling to New York in five frustrating games. They’ve fought through an 82-game gauntlet this year to avenge those frustrations from last spring. As they gear up for the Magic this week in Independence, here’s an early look at this year’s First Round matchup …
2023-24 Head-to-Head
The Cavs and Magic have faced off four times this year, splitting the season series with each winning games on the others’ home floor and three of the four games decided by double-digits.
Here’s a glance at the four-game set this year …
December 6 – at Cleveland
Before departing on a four-game trip, the Cavs ran out to a big first-half lead and barely looking back after intermission took the 121-111 win. Cleveland got contributions up and down the lineup, led by Donovan Mitchell, who finished with 35 points. Orlando made 37 trips to the free throw line, but shot just nine percent from three-point range as the Cavaliers won for the eighth time in their last 11 outings.
December 11 – at Orlando
The Magic used a big run late in the third quarter to pull away from a cool-shooting Cavs squad, snapping Cleveland’s win streak at three with the 104-94 decision. Despite shooting 35 percent from the floor and scoring just 15 points in the third quarter, Cleveland still managed to cut the Magic’s 18-point fourth quarter lead to just five before succumbing in the final moments. Darius Garland led both teams with 36 points but was one of just three Cavs in double-figures.
January 22 – at Orlando
The Cavaliers came into their third matchup with the Magic as the league’s hottest team, and they didn’t cool off for a minute in this one – jumping out to a huge lead and cruising to the finish line, extending their league-leading win streak to eight games with a 126-99 victory. Jarrett Allen set a team record with his 12th consecutive double-doubles, Sam Merrill tied a career-best with eight three-pointers and Donovan Mitchell matched a career-high in assists – with Cleveland shooting 56 percent from the floor and 53 percent from deep in the rout.
February 22 – at Cleveland
The Cavaliers cooled off just before the All-Star Break and came out sluggish in the first game on the other side – with a physical Magic team jumping out to an early 14-point lead and holding Cleveland off in the closing moments to take the 116-109 decision. Playing without Donovan Mitchell, the Cavs still shot 56 percent from the floor and both Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen notched double-doubles, but Cleveland also committed 19 turnovers and saw Orlando’s bench combine for 63 points.
Individual Performances
Paolo Banchero had the biggest game of the four-game set – erupting for 42 points in the opener – and he still led the Magic in scoring in the series, but Cleveland held him relatively in-check over the last three games, finishing with a 23.0ppg average.
Donovan Mitchell led all scorers, averaging 27.3ppg in three games. Darius Garland was not far behind at 26.7ppg in three games.
Both Mitchell and Garland had good outings distributing the ball – averaging 7.3 and 8.0 assists per, respectively. At 4.8apg, Orlando’s top assist man in four games was Franz Wagner.
Jarrett Allen led both teams, averaging 9.8 rebounds through four games, grabbing double-digit boards in three of them. Paolo Banchero led the Magic in rebounding at 6.3rpg.
Donovan Mitchell led both teams with eight steals. Evan Mobley blocked three shots in the series, but Orlando’s Goga Bitadze swatted four shots in a single game.
Postseason History
These two franchises don’t have a long Playoff history, but they did have a memorable run-in during the end of the first LeBron James Era in Cleveland.
The 2008-09 Cavaliers ran up a franchise-record 66 wins, and two years removed from their first Finals appearance in 2007, decimated the competition in that year’s Playoffs – sweeping the Pistons and Hawks before facing Dwight Howard and the Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Despite LeBron’s 49 points, the Cavs had no answer for Hedo Turkoglu and Dwight Howard and dropped the series opener by a point. Hope was revived in Game 2, when James splashed home a three-pointer at the buzzer in one of the franchise’s iconic moments. Cleveland’s joy was short-lived, however, as the Magic took the next two games in Orlando – including an overtime heartbreaker, with Rafer Alston continuing to be a thorn in the Cavs’ side, finishing with 26 points.
LeBron put up a monster triple-double in a Game 5 (37 points, 14 rebounds, 12 assists) win, but Dwight Howard had the last laugh in Game 6, leading both teams with 40 points and 14 boards to send Orlando to its second NBA Finals, falling to Kobe Bryant and the Lakers in five games.