NBA: Donovan Mitchell scores 40 again as Cavs dispatch Magic
FILE–Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Sarah Stier/Getty Images/AFP
Donovan Mitchell recorded his fourth consecutive game of 40 points, finishing with 43 to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers past the host Orlando Magic 117-113 on Tuesday.
Mitchell shot 4-for-6 in the fourth quarter to close out a 15-of-23 shooting performance and scored 12 of his points over the final 7:10 to help Cleveland (50-30) hold off Orlando down the stretch of a back-and-forth contest.
Neither team led by more than nine points and the two exchanged leads 11 times — with one lead change coming with 3:53 remaining when the Magic (34-45) capped a 10-0 run.
Orlando’s late advantage was fleeting, though, as Caris LeVert answered Paolo Banchero’s go-ahead bucket on the next possession with a 3-pointer that closed LeVert’s 19-point performance off the bench and gave Cleveland the lead for good.
4 straight 40+ point games for Donovan Mitchell 🔥
43 points
5 rebounds
4 assists
5 threes
65% FGHe joins Russ, Harden, and Kobe as the only players over the past 25 seasons to drop 40+ in 4 straight. pic.twitter.com/x5PMTz21TS
— NBA (@NBA) April 5, 2023
LeVert shot 5-for-6 from beyond the 3-point arc to pace the Cavaliers’ 15-for-31 performance from long range.
Darius Garland posted a double-double in the win, which secured Cleveland its first 50-win season since the 2017-18 campaign. Garland scored 16 points and distributed a game-high 10 assists.
Evan Mobley added 14 points, seven rebounds and four assists, and Jarrett Allen finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots.
Markelle Fultz led Orlando with 23 points on 11-of-17 shooting. He also dished out a team-high eight assists.
Banchero and Wendell Carter Jr. each posted double-doubles in the loss — Banchero with 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Carter with 17 points and 12 boards. Banchero added four assists while Carter had three.
Orlando got another 17 points from Franz Wagner and 15 points off the bench from Cole Anthony. Goga Bitadze rounded out Orlando’s double-figure scorers with 10 points and six rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench.
