Cavs Win Game 7 vs. Magic as Donovan Mitchell Outduels Paolo Banchero, Wows NBA Fan

After trailing by as many as 18 points in the first half, the Cleveland Cavaliers stormed back to defeat the Orlando Magic 106-94 in Game 7 of their first-round playoff series on Sunday.

Cavs star guard Donovan Mitchell put on a show for the home fans at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse and spearheaded the victory for Cleveland, putting the team on his back with 39 points, 24 of which came in the second half. No other player on the team scored more than 15 points. Mitchell added nine rebounds, five assists, a steal and a block in the win.

The Cavs needed Mitchell to be at his best to stave off a strong performance by Magic forward Paolo Banchero, who led Orlando with 38 points and 16 rebounds. The second-year star got off to a hot start with 24 points in the first half, but Cleveland stepped up its defensive effort on him over the final two quarters.

Fans on social media were delighted by the duel between Mitchell and Banchero, but it was Mitchell who earned a massive amount of praise for leading the Cavs to their first playoff series win since 2018:

Mitchell’s stellar game came after he scored 50 points in a Game 6 loss to Orlando. He was clearly motivated to help Cleveland avoid another early playoff exit, and he will need to maintain that level of intensity as the postseason continues.

The Cavs will now move on to face the top-seeded Boston Celtics in the second round starting on Tuesday, which won’t be an easy matchup following their tough seven-game battle with the Magic. However, if Mitchell keeps playing this way, Cleveland could pull off a shocking upset.