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The Magic fall to (23-21) on the season after getting blown out by the (26-15) Cavaliers at home.
final pic.twitter.com/gUCgeqduG9
— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) January 23, 2024
Ugly Early for Magic
It was over pretty early as Cleveland took a 7-0 run to start the game. The Cavs scored their first points 20 seconds into the first quarter. They held the lead the rest of the game.
The Magic could not find a way to slow down Cleveland from beyond the arc. This season, the Cavs are shooting 35.9 % from three. Monday night, they shot 52.6%
5-for-5 from 5️⃣.@smerrill05 | #LetEmKnow https://t.co/E2CePMBJ28 pic.twitter.com/W3GO8jksAU
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) January 23, 2024
Former second-round pick Sam Merrill was to thank for the team’s excellent production. He nearly matched his career high last night scoring 26 pts from 8-of-13 shooting. Merrill also knocked down his two free throws, grabbed three rebounds and dished out an assist.
Paolo Banchero struggled for the Magic last night. Although he finished the game as Orlando’s leading scorer, he went 6-of-14 from the floor, 1-of-4 from three and 5-of-9 from the charity stripe.
https://twitter.com/cavs/status/1749602333527355759
Cleveland took a 25-point lead at the half and sailed through the rest of the game.
This Season
Overall, Orlando now sits in eighth place in the Eastern Conference and second place in the Southeast division.
Additionally, something the Magic have struggled with all season is avoiding turnovers. Currently, Orlando are tied sixth in turnovers a game in the NBA with 15.1. This needs to be cleaned up, or the Magic may not be able to earn themselves an automatic spot in the playoffs come April.
The 3-point shooting is not the problem tonight.
The #Magic have eight turnovers and had only eight field goals in the paint in the first quarter. The #Cavs are locking them out of the paint and the Magic are settling for jumpers. 48-27 CLE, 8:49 2nd
— Orlando Magic Daily (@OMagicDaily) January 23, 2024
Up Next
Next up, the Orlando Magic travel to Memphis to take on the (16-27) Grizzlies. This is the first time this season that these two teams face off against each other.
The Magic do play the Cavs one more time this season in Cleveland on February 22. Cleveland currently lead the series 2-1.
