The undermanned Orlando Magic cannot overcome the first quarter deficit from the loss to the Cavaliers

CLEVELAND — For the last year or so, the Cavaliers' Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse has been an inhospitable place for the Orlando Magic.

Four losses here in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs ended their 2023-24 season in May.

On Friday evening, the Magic faced the Cavs for the first time since last year's playoff exit. In a game nationally televised on ESPN, Cleveland handed Orlando another loss to forget, 120-109.

Facing a depleted Magic lineup that was missing leading scorer Paolo Banchero as well as centers Wendell Carter Jr. (right knee tendonitis) and Goga Bitadze (left foot tendon strain), the Cavaliers had an 18-point lead after 12 minutes.

The Magic missed all nine three-point attempts in the first quarter. Jett Howard's third corner ended a string of 23 consecutive missed shots dating back to Wednesday night in Chicago, but Orlando didn't get closer than 10 points the rest of the way.

The Magic, who are expected to be without Banchero for at least four to six weeks due to a torn oblique ligament, are now 3-3 overall and 0-2 on this five-game road trip.

“I just think we didn’t see any shots early,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said Friday night. “We got a lot of open attacks, early attacks. That led to a lot of quick breaks and long rebounds, and they were able to take advantage of the break and score a lot of easy baskets. Now they made some difficult balls early on.” . We thank them for how they played and how they are playing now, but we have to do better when we come out.”

Winning in Cleveland was always going to be a big challenge. Orlando was undermanned and, frankly, just too small without Banchero, Carter Jr. and Bitadze, who are each 6-foot-1.

Starting in Banchero's place for the first time this season was second-year guard Anthony Black, who recorded seven points and six assists. Jonathan Isaac and Moritz Wagner were Orlando's only big players who could match Cleveland's size.

Still, Mosley appreciated his team's fight. After that first-quarter blitz, the Magic outscored the Cavs by seven points.

“Without hanging your head and understanding that Cleveland played very good basketball,” Mosley said. “(We) reduced it to 13, close, a few turnovers pushed it over the top again. But these guys never stop fighting, and they won't. That’s just who this group is.”

“It was great that we came out in the second half and showed that resilience, but we have to put up 48 minutes in a game.”

“After that quarter, I thought we played great,” said Jalen Suggs, who scored a career-high 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. “I just have to keep getting better.”

The contributions of Suggs and Franz Wagner (17) were not enough to keep up with the Cavaliers' trio of Darius Garland (25), Donovan Mitchell (22) and Evan Mobley (14, 12 rebounds). But Orlando got a nice boost from Tristan da Silva, who played his first real rotation minutes, made his first official NBA shot and finished the night with 17 points. On a night with few players, he was a positive player – and felt comfortable, as he emphasized after the game.

“To be honest, I just didn’t want to lose here again,” Suggs said. “I didn’t want to get out of the game because I didn’t even want to face that reality. You know I'm competitive.

The Magic couldn't shake the bad taste that this building brings, but the Magic offered insight into how they can compete without Banchero.

“The nice part of the league is that we’re back in it (Sunday), and then we’re back in it (Monday),” Suggs said. “So there is no time to feel sorry about this matter. Get through the night, and as soon as the clock strikes midnight, it’s on to the next.”

The Magic's five-game road trip continues Sunday night with a matchup with the Western Conference finalists from a season ago, the Dallas Mavericks. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

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