Orlando Magic Overcomes Injury Scares In Win Over Cleveland Cavaliers
ORLANDO - For the second time within a week, the Orlando Magic squared off with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and this time they came away with a 104-94 win on Monday at the Amway Center.
The win avenged a 121-111 loss to Cleveland on Wednesday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Orlando (16-7) has now won nine straight games at home.
Banchero led the Magic with 20 points, 11 of which came in the third quarter. He went down with a sprained right ankle after stepping on Cleveland guard Darius Garland's foot with under a minute left in the third quarter and returned with 6:39 left in the fourth. Banchero scored a career-high 42 points in his last outing against the Cavaliers (13-10).
"It just shocked me at first," Banchero said of the injury. "You hate stepping on guys' foots and turning your ankle so it shocked me, put me on the ground but I was able to put weight on it. When I got to the back, I felt good enough and they retaped it, went on the court real quick, tested it out and felt like I could come back.
"Had the game, watching on the TV [and] was yelling at the TV. It really wasn't a hard decision. I know I might be a little dramatic but I really was shocked at first. I'll be good for Friday."
Paolo Banchero briefly left the game with a sprained right ankle.
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Franz Wagner scored 19 points for Orlando.
Jalen Suggs and Jonathan Isaac made their returns from ankle injuries. Suggs had 10 points, two rebounds and two assists in 29 minutes. Isaac played 13 minutes and had seven points plus four rebounds.
Joe Ingles went down with a left ankle injury in the third quarter, though he returned at the start of the fourth. He shot a perfect 6-6 and had 12 points, four rebounds and three assists off the bench.
"He does so many things for that second unit," Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley said. "There's a poise, there's a pace to the game that he changes. His decision-making, getting guys to the right spot, he's out there coaching on the fly with these guys."
After trading buckets to begin the second half, Orlando began to pull away with an 8-0 run and led by as many as 13 points in the third quarter. Orlando outscored Cleveland 30-15 in the third quarter after trailing 54-51 at halftime.
The Magic caught fire again at the start of the fourth quarter. The Cavs cut the lead to five late in the fourth quarter, but defensive stops that led to easy baskets for Orlando staved off the late comeback attempt.
"A will and a want that we have to impose on this game and what we needed to do," Mosley said of the message heading into the second half. "These guys took on the challenge at halftime by our coaches and with each other knowing that it had to be a defensive game because if he wanted to get out and run, you had to get stops first."
Garland had 36 points, five assists and six rebounds for Cleveland. Donovan Mitchell scored 22 and had four steals.
The Cavaliers' 94 points was their lowest of the season.
"They were working for their buckets," Suggs said. "We held them to 94 points. To hold that team with those two, the pick and roll and snipers they have around, it's not easy and it's a credit to everyone."
The Cavs were without center Evan Mobley for a second-straight game with left knee soreness. He had 16 points plus one block and one steal against the Magic on Wednesday.
Orlando heads north to face the top team in the Eastern conference, the Boston Celtics (16-5), in back-to-back games on Friday and Sunday at the TD Garden. The two teams previously met in the in-season tournament on Nov. 24, with Orlando taking home a 113-96 win at the Amway Center.
"You continue to preach what you know travels, which is defense," Mosley said. "That's who we are, and that's what we'll continue to be about. Our guys know what they're asked to do, how physical we need to play."
The Magic face the Celtics at 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday at the TD Garden.
