The Orlando Magic are banking on their home-court advantage as they face the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 4.
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The Orlando Magic are banking on their home-court advantage as they face the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series on Saturday afternoon.
After struggling to score only 83 and 86 points in their losses on the road in Cleveland, the Magic found their offensive groove back on their home turf Thursday night. They shot a solid 51.1 percent from the field in a commanding 121-83 victory, cutting their series deficit to 2-1.
After struggling with a 3-for-11 shooting from beyond the arc in the first two games, Magic star Paolo Banchero came alive, hitting 4 of 9 three-pointers on his way to scoring 31 points in the Game 3 victory. He received solid support from Jalen Suggs, who bounced back from a rough 1-for-10 performance on the road, knocking down 3 of 5 shots from downtown and tallying 24 points.
For the Cavaliers, Jerome and Wade will not be playing the game. Besides, Porter is questionable for the game as well. As for the Magic, no injuries have been reported and all players are available for selection.
The Magic, who had struggled with shooting percentages of 21.6 and 25.7 from beyond the arc in the two games in Cleveland, came out strong in Game 3, overpowering the visitors with a 13-for-37 (35.1 percent) performance from deep. Magic coach Jamahl Mosley praised Banchero for changing the momentum, even after he and his teammates missed their first nine shots of the game as the Cavaliers took an early lead.
The Magic have been stepping up their offensive game as the series progresses, showing improvements in points scored, field-goal percentage, three-point shooting percentage, and the number of three-pointers made. In Game 3, they were the first team in the series to break the 100-point mark.
Orlando completely outclassed the visitors on the boards, grabbing a commanding 51-32 overall advantage and even snatching 14 of their own missed shots, which they converted into an extra 22 points. Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff was more bothered by the rebounding dominance than by the fact that his team hit series-low shooting percentages, both overall (39.0 percent) and from downtown (23.5 percent).
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