Cavaliers
Magic bury Cavaliers early, cruise to 132-116 preseason win
Orlando jumped to a 35-21 first-quarter edge and never trailed, riding a 31-point lead to a 132-116 win over Cleveland. The Magic shot 51.5% and out-rebounded the Cavaliers 61-50, while five Cavaliers starters finished in the red. Both teams are 0-0 in the preseason, and Orlando now splits the season series after Cleveland won the first meeting 119-105.
By the Hoops Nightly Desk · updated 8 d ago01The story of the nightMagic open the gap early and hold itOrlando never trailed.
Orlando never trailed. The Magic opened 35-28 and stretched it to 72-52 at the half, a 20-point cushion built on 51.5% shooting. They kept pouring it on in the third, outscoring Cleveland 36-31 to lead 108-83 with the game's biggest lead at 31 points. The Cavaliers won the fourth quarter 33-24, but by then the deficit was too deep. Zero lead changes in the box score tell the story: this was Orlando's game from the opening tip.
02Banchero and Wagner lead a balanced attackPaolo Banchero had 24 points and 8 rebounds on 10-of-13 shooting, finishing plus-19.
Paolo Banchero had 24 points and 8 rebounds on 10-of-13 shooting, finishing plus-19. Franz Wagner added 20 points and 8 assists, plus-24 in just 22 minutes. Tristan da Silva came off the bench for 18 points on 4-of-11 from three. For Cleveland, Meleek Thomas scored 16 off the bench on 6-of-9 shooting, Donovan Mitchell had 15 points and 8 assists, and Evan Mobley added 14 points and 5 rebounds, but both starters finished minus-20.
03Won in the paint, on the boards, and off the benchOrlando outscored Cleveland in the paint 64-54 and on the glass 61-50.
Orlando outscored Cleveland in the paint 64-54 and on the glass 61-50. The Magic bench outscored Cleveland's 64-55, and Orlando's 34 assists to 21 showed far crisper ball movement than the Cavaliers managed. Cleveland actually made fewer threes (11-of-35) than Orlando (16-of-44), and while the Cavaliers forced 14 Magic turnovers to their own 12, they couldn't turn that edge into enough extra possessions to matter against Orlando's shooting and rebounding advantage.
04What it means for both teamsBoth clubs are 0-0 since this is preseason, so no standings shift here.
Both clubs are 0-0 since this is preseason, so no standings shift here. For Orlando, the win evens the exhibition series with Cleveland at one game apiece after the Cavaliers took the first matchup 119-105 on October 11. For Cleveland, five key players finished with minus numbers in the teens or worse, including Mitchell, Mobley, James Harden, and Peyton Watson all at minus-16 or deeper, a sign the starting group has work to do before the games start counting.
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