Cleveland Cavaliers (45-27) beat Orlando Magic (38-34) 136-131 at home on Tuesday, March 24 in a shootout, with the two teams combining for 267 points.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Magic had the better start, winning the first 39-32 to lead by 7 after one. The Cavaliers moved in front with a 40-29 second quarter, carrying a 4-point lead into halftime.
The Cavaliers won the third 33-29 to create some separation, taking a 8-point lead into the fourth. The Magic took the fourth 34-31; the Cavaliers held on for a 136-131 regulation win.
What decided it
The Cavaliers got more from their shots, finishing at 67.9% effective field-goal shooting compared with 57.1% for the Magic. The Cavaliers took better care of the ball, turning it over on 8.4% of possessions compared with 9.3% for the Magic. In a 5-point game, that shooting gap supplied the clearest edge.
The Magic did win one battle, second chances: ORB% of 32.5% against 18.8%. The Cavaliers made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 96 possessions per team, the Cavaliers produced 141.3 points per 100 possessions to 136.1 for the Magic.
Who made the difference
Donovan Mitchell was the game's biggest individual force for CLE: 42 pts, 2 reb, 3 ast on 14-22 shooting. His Game Score of 31.3 led everyone. His team was +2 with him on the floor.
Paolo Banchero led the Magic with 36 pts, 6 reb, 5 ast on 10-19 shooting, good for a 26.7 Game Score.
What it means
The result fit the pre-game Win Meter, which gave the Cavaliers about a 76% chance.
Across the last 6 meetings in our records, Cleveland Cavaliers lead 4-2.
The Cavaliers are now 45-27, and the Magic are 38-34. The Cavaliers last five before this game: W-L-W-W-W.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.