Magic eliminated from postseason contention by Donovan Mitchell, Cavaliers
ORLANDO, Fla. — Donovan Mitchell produced 43 points, Caris LeVert added 19 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers eliminated the Orlando Magic from postseason contention on Tuesday with a 117-113 victory.
Mitchell became the first player in the NBA this season to record four straight 40-point games with the performance. He scored 25 points in the second half and hit several clutch shots down the stretch to pull out the 117-113 victory.
The Cavaliers reached 50 wins for the first time since the 2017-18 season.
“He dominated the game tonight,” Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “There is no other way to put it. There was no answer for Donovan Mitchell tonight. When you have a guy who can carry you in the biggest of moments, it gives you a chance no matter what.”
Said Magic coach Jamahl Mosley: “He got himself going pretty good.”
Cleveland clinched the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference and homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs with the win. It is their first appearance in the postseason since 2018 and their first without LeBron James since the 1997-98 season.
“It is huge,” Mitchell said. “You want to start at home. You want to be in your own bed. You want to be in your own facility. All of those little things are major impacts. For us, just continuing to do what we do at a high level. Everybody did their job at a high level. For the Cleveland fans, for the first time since 2018, it will be loud, it will be exciting and it will be rowdy. We will be ready for it.”
Markelle Fultz led the Magic with 23 points and eight assists, and rookie Paolo Banchero added 20 points, 10 rebounds and four assists for his 14th double-double of the season. Wendell Carter Jr. and Franz Wagner each added 17 points.
The Magic entered the contest needing to win their final four games and have the Chicago Bulls lose their last four games to claim the last play-in spot. With the loss, the 10 postseason teams in the Eastern Conference are locked in.
“It hurts. It should,” Mosley said of missing the play-in tournament. “The guys battled. They compete, they fight and every single night, that’s who this team has been, all year — no matter what’s going on. When you give that much effort this team has continued to do, it should hurt.”
Orlando recovered from a 5-20 start this season but has gone 29-25 since Dec. 7, the 12th-best record in the NBA over that stretch. They ranked sixth in defense in the league during that span and defeated several playoff teams along the way.
With the playoffs now out of the picture, the group will be looking to continue to build over its last three games of the season. They believe their second-half run will help create some tremendous momentum heading into the offseason.
“We’re building something very, very strong and special here,” Fultz said. “Our mindset still doesn’t change even with us being out. We’re still going into every game trying to improve and be the best team that we can be. We had a great season. I think we put ourselves in a position to learn this year and see what it’s like to play meaningful basketball.”
