Jalen Suggs After Orlando Magic's Win Over Cleveland Cavaliers: 'We're Not A Doormat Anymore'
ORLANDO - The Orlando Magic have hung their hat on the defensive side of the ball throughout the season. The Magic's defense put together another strong performance on Monday in a 104-94 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Amway Center.
The Cavaliers' 94 points was their lowest of the season. Orlando's ability to defend at a high level is something Jalen Suggs credits to the team's love and willingness to play on that end of the ball.
"We have fun playing defense," Suggs said. "We sometimes lose sight of that and it's human nature. it's a part of being in this league and we enjoy getting turnt up and being energized on defensive plays all the way down the line. Everyone does it and everyone is buying into it. We all have that collective mindset. We've got a lot of versatility, a lot of passion and a lot of will."
Jalen Suggs and Max Strus
Mike Watters-USA Today Sports
The Magic's defense forced 13 turnovers, which led to 26 points. They also had seven steals, and rookie guard Anthony Black led the team with three.
Orlando's win avenged a 121-111 loss to the Cavs (13-10) on Wednesday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Along with getting even with Cleveland, Suggs felt the victory over a playoff team from last season showed the Magic's growth and that they aren't the same team that used to be looked over by its opponents.
"We knew we owed them," Suggs said. "We didn't give our best effort in Cleveland. We wanted to not only show and make a statement to them but to everybody that we're talented. We don't want to be the doormat anymore, and people just talk about 'Oh it's the Orlando Magic.' We want to be that tough team. You've got to scout and bring full mental energy and physicality to come play us."
Orlando will look to continue its momentum on the road when they face the Boston Celtics in back-to-back games at the TD Garden. The Magic beat the Celtics (16-5) on Nov. 24 in an In-Season Tournament game 113-96 at the Amway Center.
The Magic and Celtics play the first of their two straight games on Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET.
