Donovan Mitchell sparks Cavaliers second-half comeback to beat Magic, win Game 7 to advance

For Cleveland to win his series — and to win Game 7 Sunday — Donovan Mitchell had to be the best player on the court. With two strong defensive teams going head-to-head, it fell to the former All-NBA player, the best scorer and shot creator on the floor, the guy capable of lifting his team to push his team to a win.

He lived up to that billing for one quarter Sunday, and it was enough.

After shooting 3-of-13 in the first half (0-of-7 outside the restricted area), Mitchell scored 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting and was the guy who changed the game. Cleveland trailed by 10 at the half but led by eight at the end of the third then ended up winning comfortably, 106-94, to advance to the second round of the NBA playoffs.

The Cavaliers will hop on a plane and fly to Boston to take on a rested Celtics team in Game 1 of their second-round series Tuesday night.

In the first half, it looked like Orlando might be taking that flight.

Paolo Banchero had a series showing everyone he belongs in the “NBA changing of the guard” conversation around these playoffs — put his name right next to Anthony Edwards, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and everyone else. Banchero finished game 7 with 38 points and 16 rebounds, getting to the line 18 times and serving as the team’s primary shot-creator. Banchero led an Orlando squad that got off to a fast start in Game 7, shooting 6-of-11 from 3, and they were in charge for most of the first half, leading by as many as 18.

Things began to change late in the second quarter as Cleveland started to pick up its defensive intensity while the Magic’s shooting regressed to the mean. The Magic hit 3-of-18 from beyond the arc in the meaningful part of the game, and they shot 5-of-31 outside the restricted area in the second half. Beyond just the shooting, the Magic had to work much harder to get quality shots.

That was the opposite of Cleveland, who started getting the rim easily behind Mitchell, who finished the game with 39 points. He got help from Caris LeVert (15 points) and a strong game from Isaac Okoro defensively and with hustle plays, although he finished with eight points. Darius Garland finished with 12 points but on 3-of-13 shooting. Cleveland earned this win without Jarrett Allen, who missed his third straight game due to a rib injury.

The playoffs put a team’s weaknesses under a spotlight and that’s what happened with Orlando, particularly in the second half of Game 7. They need to get more shooting this offseason. They also need to get more shot creation (or, advantage creation where said person can pass to the open man). Banchero can do some of that, he’s also good at hitting the tough shots he creates, but the man heeds help. It’s why they are interested in Paul George (he would be a great fit), but others will be available at the point or wing, too.

Cleveland — and Donovan Mitchell in particular — also has some tough questions to answer this offseason, but those can be put off for a while as the Cavaliers advanced to the second round and now get to test themselves against Boston.