Just like Game 1, Donovan Mitchell raced to a hot start in the Game 2.
Much like their series opener, the Cleveland Cavaliers landed the early blow that the Orlando Magic never recovered from.
Mitchell scored 19-first half points, three Cavaliers starters scored in double figures as the fourth-seed Cavs toppled the fifth-seed Orlando Magic, 96-86, to take a 2-0 in their East opening round showdown.
The @cavs defend homecourt to take a 2-0 lead ??
— NBA TV (@NBATV) April 23, 2024
Spida: 23 PTS | 8 REB | 4 AST
Mobley: 17 PTS | 7 REB | 2 BLK
Allen: 16 PTS | 20 REB | 2 BLK pic.twitter.com/RzXWbUcsYI
Mitchell exploded for 14 points in the opening frame alone and finished with 23 and added eight rebounds, four assists in 35 minutes en route to a wire-to-wire Cavaliers win.
Donovan Mitchell (23 PTS) paces the scoring to help Cleveland establish a 2-0 series lead 🕷?
— NBA Philippines (@NBA_Philippines) April 23, 2024
Watch every game live on NBA League Pass & get 150PHP off for your first month's subscription on Alipay+ rewards within Gcash!
👉 https://t.co/QGvkaOAmgJ#RepublikaNgNBA #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/xVMlBUBEUO
The former All-Star followed-up his 30-point Game 1 with another dominant start and helped Cleveland move within two wins away from their first East semis appearance in six years.
Evan Mobley added 17 while Jarret registered his second straight double-double of 15 points and 20 rebounds — including nine offensive — for the Cavs and Darius Garland chipping in 15.
Game 3 of the series will shift to Orlando with the Magic hoping to turn the series around on Friday (Philippine time).
After trailing 87-65 in the fourth, the Magic used a 12-0 run to make it a ten-point game at 87-77 with 4:57 left.
Magic rip a 12-0 run to cut the deficit to 10 in the 4th quarter of Game 2 in the #NBAPlayoffs presented by Google Pixel! pic.twitter.com/f9CgFoVvxd
— NBA (@NBA) April 23, 2024
But the Cavs, who led by as many as 22 points in the game, held their ground for another home win despite a 12-of-30 shooting from 3-point range and 15 turnovers.
Meanwhile, Paolo Banchero scored 21 points and Franz Wagner 18 for the Magic, who have only come back to win one playoff series in 13 tries in their franchise history.
Earlier, Jalen Suggs went down with a sprained left knee in the first quarter after making contact with Mitchell and immediately grabbed his leg in pain.
Prayers out to Jalen Suggs 🙏 pic.twitter.com/pdYkGzJMz7
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) April 22, 2024
Suggs, however, returned after halftime with a sleeve on his leg and finished with nine points.
Much like Game 1, Orlando couldn't find their shooting touch, going 9 of 35 on 3-pointers including missing their five attempts.
