Paolo Banchero’s 39 not enough as Magic drop pivotal Game 5
CLEVELAND — It’s officially do-or-die time for the Magic.
They couldn’t hold onto a late lead in the fourth quarter Tuesday night — Evan Mobley blocked Franz Wagner’s layup attempt to tie it in the waning seconds — and fell to the Cavaliers in a pivotal Game 5 104-103 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse despite Paolo Banchero’s game-high 39 points.
On the brink of elimination, the series returns to Kia Center with the Magic down 3-2 for Game 6 on Friday.
“Mobley made a hell of a play with the block at the rim,” said Magic coach Jamahl Mosley.
Cleveland, led by All-NBA guard Donovan Mitchell (28 points) has held serve at home. It also was its first time eclipsing 100 points in the series.
Franz Wagner (14) and Jalen Suggs (13) were the only other players to reach double figures but they combined to shoot just 8-for-25.
Each game in the series had been decided by double figures until Tuesday.
“Go home and take care of home,” Mosley said when asked what the message was to his locker room after the loss. “It doesn’t become a series until the home team loses and they did a great job protecting home court.
“They battled and fought, and we have to remember the small things and the details of these games matter.”
Cleveland had jumped ahead by 10 points after the opening frame but a key run by Orlando in the final 3:10 of the second quarter kept the Magic within striking distance going into the break.
Orlando took what the Cavs gave them on defense — quality looks in the mid-range. Banchero and Suggs each hit a pair of jump shots from 13-16 feet during an 8-0 run and only trail by 1 at halftime.
Banchero’s 39 are the most points in a playoff game by a Magic player since Dwight Howard in 2011 (46 points vs. Atlanta).
“He did a very good job of attacking and getting downhill,” Mosley said of Banchero’s performance. “He was very aggressive and strong.”
Cleveland was without starting center Jarrett Allen because of a right rib contusion suffered during Game 4 in Orlando. Allen went through pregame warmups but was ruled out within an hour of tip-off.
Cavs coach JB Bickerstaff inserted Isaac Okoro into the opening lineup and moved Mobley to Allen’s spot. Mobley totaled 14 points and 13 rebounds while Okoro had 8 points. He also went with Marcus Morris (12 points) instead of Georges Niang who had been ineffective.
The Magic were without Gary Harris for the fourth quarter after he strained his right hamstring and was ruled out. Harris was held scoreless (0 of 2 from 3) in 19 minutes.
Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com
If you go …
Magic vs. Cavs, Game 6
When: Friday at Kia Center, TBD
How to watch: Bally Sports Florida
