ORLANDO, Fla. — When the Orlando Magic missed their first eight field goal attempts in Game 3 in their first-round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday, they kept the mindset they’ve had all series long: Just keep shooting.
It’s not what they wanted to see — a continuation of their poor shooting performance in the first two games. But then, something changed.
About four minutes in, Franz Wagner hit a 24-foot 3-pointer. On the next trip down, Jalen Suggs hit a 27-foot 3. Then Paolo Banchero hit a 7-foot jump shot. Wagner hit an 11-foot one. Banchero knocked down a 26-foot 3. All of this happened within two minutes, and they kept that kind of shooting up for the rest of the night.
“Once one goes down the floodgates open,” Banchero said.
Not only did they play their best, most complete game of the series, but Orlando put together one of their best offensive playoff games in franchise history, leading them to a 121-83 win — their first playoff win at home in almost 13 years.
The Magic led by 16 at halftime, their largest halftime lead in a playoff game since 2011. By the fourth quarter, they were up 54 points, their largest lead entering the fourth in the postseason in franchise history. Their 36-point win is their third-largest playoff win and the Cavs’ largest loss.
“Give credit to us being home and backed by the fans,” Banchero said. “Starting your first two playoff games on the road in that environment was tough for everybody … Being home just calms you down.”
Banchero finished with 31 points and 14 rebounds, becoming the youngest player to record a 30-point, 10-rebound playoff game since LeBron James in 2006. After committing 15 turnovers in Games 1 and 2, he didn’t turn the ball over once in Game 3.
He entered Thursday’s game more aggressively, hunting his shot from the jump.
“I just knew I was going to have to stay in attack mode. The difference in being down 2-1 and 3-0 is ginormous,” Banchero said. “We knew this game was kind of do or die. I didn’t want to leave any stone unturned.”
He attempted 12 shots in the first quarter, which is the most he’s ever taken in any quarter of his career. He missed the first, but just kept shooting.
“We felt [him having a good night] from the beginning of the game,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “As soon as he stepped into his first shot and it didn’t go in, there was no hesitation to his next one. That’s the sign of a young man who is continuing to get better and continuing to grow into who he is becoming. He does not let a make or a miss rattle what he is doing.”
Banchero wasn’t the only one. Suggs finished with 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting. Wagner added 16 points and 8 assists. Wendell Carter Jr. returned to the starting lineup after Jonathan Isaac started the first two games of the series, providing the kind of play the Magic wanted on Cavaliers big man Jarrett Allen.
After Allen grabbed 38 rebounds in the first two games of the series, Carter helped limit him to just eight in Game 3. As a team, Orlando outrebounded Cleveland 51-32.
“We knew that was the killer in the first two games,” Banchero said. “We thought we had been playing pretty good defense but we had been giving up way too many rebounds. We really wanted to put an emphasis on neutralizing their bigs, keeping them off the boards and I think Wendell Carter was a huge part of that.”
Besides bringing Carter back into the starting group, the Magic didn’t pinpoint any major adjustment in their game that allowed them to get going on offense.
Following each of their losses in Cleveland, the Magic stayed adamant that they liked the way they were playing and liked the shots they were getting — they just didn’t have anything to show for it.
They truly believed they just needed to return home, and everything would change.
“There was a level of confidence they all possess knowing what was at stake and knowing what they needed to do, how they needed to fight,” Mosley said. ” When shots weren’t falling, it could have been the same story. But there is a confidence in this group.”
