After three years of dormancy, almost everyone thought that the Cavaliers would return to the top, but the reality was always so cruel. As the regular season drew to a close, the Cavaliers deviated from the right track in the final sprint and suffered critical hits from other teams in the league. Unconsciously, in the last 5 matches, they have suffered three consecutive defeats. There is no doubt that they need to win a game to boost the morale of the players in the team and get back on the right track.
For this game, the Cavaliers, who returned home, were challenged by the Orlando Magic. As a fish-belly team in the process of rebuilding, the Magic have been largely non-competitive this season. So far, they have won just 20 games this season, ranking first from the bottom in the East. Against such a bad-form team, the Cavaliers have little reason to lose. But things didn't turn out to be as simple as expected, and the Cavaliers also suffered a counterattack from the Magic during this period.
In the first half of the competition, the Cavaliers took the lead in entering the state, playing the role of the team's savior image Garland, the first quarter sent 8 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists of the comprehensive data, leading the team to play 27-22, with a 5-point lead. After taking the lead at the start, the Cavaliers, who entered the second quarter, were able to follow the trend and further widen the point difference between the two teams. Substitute Love stepped forward, shooting 3 of 5 from three-point range and 5 of 7 from the field in the second quarter, delivering explosive stats of 14 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists, leading the team to a 33-31 score.
The difference between the two sides has reached 7 points, and although the Cavaliers maintain the lead, they must continue to stabilize the situation if they want to win the final victory of the game. The Magic refused the Cavaliers' continued crackdown and sent a 27-21 score to recover the 6 points they had left behind in the first half. By the time the stakes were drawn to 1 point before the crucial final-quarter showdown, the Magic still had a good chance of reversing the final quarter.
In the final quarter of the decisive victory, the Cavaliers finally stabilized the situation, continued to bite the leading score without letting go, and continued to widen the point difference between the two teams. In the end, after the regular time of the fourth quarter, the Cavaliers once again played a 26-21 score, and with a total score of 107-101, rejected the Magic's reversal and came out of the haze of losing streak. Judging from the trend of the score in this game, the Cavaliers won without any ease, and did not have the momentum of the imaginary momentum. With this season's regular season showdowns coming to an end, if the Cavaliers continue to cope in this state, even if they make the playoffs, they will not achieve good results.
Looking back at the statistics of the game, the overall state of the magic players is very good, and the scoring of 7 players on the whole team has reached double digits, which can be described as a high state of all the players. But unfortunately, the core players who did not stand up in the team sent explosive data to help the team alleviate the scoring pressure, or slightly chicken ribs. On the other hand, the home side refused to reverse and came out of the haze of losing streaks on the side of the Cavaliers. Garland once again proved his team's savior ability, playing 40 minutes in a single game, sending 25 points, 3 rebounds, 12 assists and 3 steals, and making a lot of contributions in the scoring range, defensive end and organizational offensive end.
Of course, there is also Markkanen, who only played 29 minutes and handed over 20 points and 3 rebounds, although his state in the first three quarters was not very good, but the 10-point contribution in the last quarter clearly set the tone for the team to lock in the win. There is also Kevin Luck, who holds the team's top salary but is willing to play on the bench, this game also handed over 19 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists, and the 14-point scoring contribution in a single quarter has also proved the value of his veteran All-Star players.