Wine & Gold Cruise to 119-105 Victory in Orlando

*** When the Magic went to bed on Saturday night in Orlando, they must’ve been seeing Donovan Mitchell in their sleep.

The Cavaliers six-time All-Star carved the Magic up after intermission, scoring 27 of his 35 points in the second half – including 17 in the fourth quarter – as the Wine & Gold cruised to the 119-105 victory, their third straight and fifth in their last six.

Jalen Suggs hit a three-pointer one minute into the contest, and that’s about as good as it got for the Magic in the first of two straight meetings against Cleveland. From there, the Cavaliers took the lead and slowly built it over the night – taking a seven-point edge at halftime and by a dozen after three quarters. In the final period, Mitchell dealt the knockout blow – capping his 24^th 30-point game of the year. 

On the night, the 9^th-year man from Louisville went 15-of-30 from the floor, including 2-of-8 from deep and 4-of-5 from the stripe, adding a game-high nine assists, five boards and a pair of steals. 

As great as Mitchell has been scoring the basketball this year – averaging a career-high 29.0ppg, 6^th-best in the NBA – he’s been just as effective distributing the ball with Darius Garland out with a toe injury, averaging 7.8apg over his last six games. In his last four 30-point performances, he’s also handed out at least eight assists in each. 

“I think the biggest thing is, collectively, we didn’t stop,” said Mitchell following the win. “We were getting good looks offensively, we were doing a lot of things really well defensively. Earlier in the season and throughout the season, we’ve let our offense – if we’re not having success – dictate our defense. We haven’t done that. That’s been the biggest thing. We’ve been keeping our defense consistent, so that when our offense catches up, it gives us a chance. And that’s what you saw tonight.”

Mitchell’s excellence paced a solid all-around team effort – starters and bench – and another outstanding defensive effort. 

Cleveland shot 53 percent from the floor, including 44 percent from deep, while holding the Magic to 41 percent and 28 percent, respectively. Orlando stayed competitive by going 28-for-32 from the stripe.

Jaylon Tyson followed up with 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting, 3-of-5 from deep, adding five boards and four assists. The league’s 5^th-ranked three-point shooter, the sophomore from Cal is now connecting at a .462 clip (86-of-186) on the season. Tyson is also averaging 18.6ppg – shooting 53 percent from the floor; 54 percent from long-range – over his last eight games. 

The Cavs starting frontline had a great collective two-way effort. Evan Mobley finished with 13 points and seven boards and Dean Wade added 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting, adding three steals and a pair of blocks. Jarrett Allen had three steals and two blocks as well, adding eight points on 3-of-5 shooting. 

Tyrese Proctor led Cleveland’s bench with 12 points – the rookie’s seventh double-digit scoring effort of the season – going a perfect 4-of-4 from the floor, including both three-point attempts. 

Nae’Qwan Tomlin pitched in with nine points and four boards, and Lonzo Ball grabbed a game-high eight rebounds to go with a pair of assists and three steals while going 2-of-4 from deep. 

*** The Cavs are now 9-3 in their last dozen meetings against the Magic, including wins in five of their last six games in Orlando. Cleveland has also now topped five straight Eastern Conference opponents and is 6-1 in its last seven games on the road. 

*** The Wine and Gold look to make it 10-3 when they welcome Orlando right back to Rocket Mortgage on Monday night. LeBron, Luka and the Lakers roll in for their annual stop on Wednesday, and from that date until February 19, the Cavaliers play exactly one home game. On Friday, the Cavs tip off their five-game West Coast junket in Phoenix, followed by stops in Portland, L.A., Sacramento and Denver. Cleveland returns home to face the Wizards in the final game before the All-Star break.