Cleveland Cavaliers
Orlando MagicThe Orlando Magic trailed by three points with two minutes left amid another game of frustrating offense that not making good on a superhuman defensive effort. The Magic are desperate for wins wherever they can find them right now and this was a chance to make a major statement.
Despite a difficult game, Paolo Banchero had the ball in his hands with an empty corner and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope preparing to set him a screen toward the top of the key.
Donovan Mitchell and De'Andre Hunter miscommunicated what they wanted and as Kentavious Caldwell-Pope ghosted the screen to slip to the corner, they both went with Paolo Banchero. Banchero did what this offense was designed to do, feathering a pass to Caldwell-Pope in the corner.
He drained the three to tie the game, delivering on nearly a season's worth of frustration for a big moment.
Paolo Banchero saw it again after Max Strus gave the Cavs a one-point lead on his first three of the game. He ran the same play, got the matchup he wanted and buried a go-ahead free-throw-line jumper to give the Magic the lead for good. Orlando's defense did the rest holding off Cleveland's last-ditch 3-point attempts.
In the final moments of the Magic's 108-103 win over the Cavs, the Magic saw the vision of who they have wanted to be all season—resilient, tough, opportunistic and precise. They were able to manipulate the space and attention their stars garner and lean on their defense to punish and hound teams.
This was Magic basketball. And the Magic can beat anybody playing that way.
"I think our defense was great," Paolo Banchero said after Sunday's win. "We were getting to their shooters, flying around, covering for each other. On offense, we just made enough plays, trusted each other, guys stepped up when they were called on to make big shots after big shots. This was a full team effort."
Orlando knows what its potential can be. The team needed confirmation of that again. Maybe there is time to reclaim this team's potential. After a 3-2 road trip, coach Jamahl Mosley said he likes the way the team is playing.
Perhaps there is still time to cement their style and make something of this season.
It starts on defense
Everything for the Magic always starts on defense. After giving up 38 points in the first quarter, Orlando's defense was the game's star.
Coach Jamahl Mosley said he challenged the team defensively to get back to their style of defense after that rough opening. Orlando answered the call in a major way.
The Magic hounded and surrounded the Cavs every time they came into the paint and disrupted and closed out on passes to the 3-point line. Yes, Orlando benefited from some uncharacteristic misses as Cleveland shot 10 for 40 from three—Donovan Mitchell went 3 for 14, missing two hurried contested threes in the final seconds. But the team got the Cavs frustrated.
Orlando ended the game with a 103.0 defensive rating, stymying the best offense in the league. In the final three quarters, the Cavs scored only 65 points and posted an 89.0 offensive rating. The Magic cut out most of the dribble drives and held the Cavs to 6-for-19 shooting on second-chance opportunities.
Orlando was not perfect and had to find its defense, but that was the basis for everything. The Magic prevented runout threes and transition opportunities that bury everyone else.
Defense is the team's identity. But Orlando has struggled defensively since the All-Star break -- 10th in the league at 112.1 points allowed per 100 possessions since the All-Star break (11 games). Orlando has struggled to find the elite level of defense that is critical to the team's success.
"If we play the right way and we do what we're supposed to do, we should be in every game regardless of who is on the court," Anthony Black said after Sunday's game. "They had a 16-game win streak, that's a good team playing good ball. We have confidence on the court with any team. We did a good job showing that."
Late in the third quarter, Orlando trailed by eight when Anthony Black and Gary Harris teamed up to force three straight turnovers and spark a 7-0 run and trim a 12-point halftime deficit to one entering the fourth quarter.
It started with the team's defense, the way it always has to.
The By-Committee Approach
The Orlando Magic have had strong defensive games betrayed by poor offensive efforts that finally led to total collapse. This game seemed to be trending in that direction throughout the afternoon with both Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner struggling to shoot all game—they combined to shoot 14 for 41 (34.1 percent).
The Magic's offense is meant to take the attention put on Banchero and Wagner's pressure driving to the rim and use that to create shot opportunities for other players. They have struggled to get to the paint and trust shooters.
Black provided the defense in the third quarter. And the second-year guard hit huge back-to-back threes in the fourth quarter on his way to 17 points. He made all three of his 3-point attempts in the game.
Wendell Carter was a big presence around the basket too, tallying 16 points and 14 rebounds (including six offensive rebounds). He filled the gaps when the defensive attention went to Paolo Banchero.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 15 points and made three 3-pointers—just the 10th time that has happened this season. His stepping up in a season where he has shot a career-worst 31.4 percent from three entering Sunday's game was a needed relief to give the Magic this look at what is possible.
"The toughness that they have, the resiliency that they have to not let the last game spill over into this game, took the good things from the last game and learned from them and we were able to apply it tonight," coach Jamahl Mosley said after Sunday's win. "Understanding what we're capable of doing on any given night. I think that's what you saw from this group."
That is how the Magic's offense is supposed to work. And the team is supposed to move the ball to that open space.
Of course, the ball was in Banchero's hands at the end of the game. And because of all the success others had despite the struggles of the team's two main stars, Banchero had the space to finish the game.
"That's how we've got to play," Banchero said after Sunday's win. "We've got to bring that mindset back home. We can't have a drop-off. We showed we can compete with really good teams."
The Magic can play their brand of basketball still. They just need to build on this game and stack multiple wins.
But the vision is there. It has always been there. This team has the defense to compete with anybody. Sunday's win was a reminder of all of that.