Donovan Mitchell scored 36 points and dished out nine assists and Jaylon Tyson had 17 points as the surging Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the host Orlando Magic 119-105 on Saturday night.
Evan Mobley added 13 points and seven rebounds for Cleveland, which has won three straight and five of its last six. Mitchell poured in 27 points in the second half as the Cavaliers improved to 10-4 since Dec. 29.
Paulo Banchero topped the Magic with 27 points and made 10 of 12 free-throw attempts, while Desmond Bane had 20 points and Anthony Black scored 16. Orlando dropped its third in a row and never led after the first quarter.
For the second half of the home-and-home series Monday in Cleveland, both teams planned on flying into Northeast Ohio late Saturday in advance of an expected snowstorm.
Magic point guard Jalen Suggs had nine points and six assists in his first action since bruising his right medial collateral ligament on Jan. 2.
Dean Wade scored in transition early in the third to give Cleveland its initial double-digit lead at 63-53. The advantage swelled to 97-79 in the fourth on Mitchell’s floater with 8:28 remaining.
The Cavaliers held a 55-48 advantage at the half with Tyson heading the charge with 15 points and rookie Tyrese Proctor scoring seven in five minutes. Bane had 12 points and Banchero nine.
Mitchell scored nine points and Tyson added six in the first quarter, which ended with Cleveland ahead 25-23. There were nine lead changes and eight ties in the period.
Cavaliers small forward De’Andre Hunter was a game-day scratch with right knee soreness, joining point guard Darius Garland (right big toe sprain) and swingman Sam Merrill (right hand sprain) as unavailable rotation players.
Garland did take part in shooting drills before the game. Coach Kenny Atkinson said he was making progress.
Power forward Franz Wagner sat out a second straight game for the Magic with left ankle soreness. He missed six weeks with a high ankle sprain before returning Jan. 15 for Orlando’s games in Germany and England.
–Field Level Media
