“The magic choked so bad” – Cleveland Cavaliers win NBA Playoffs series without LeBron James for the first time since 1993

The Cavaliers finally ended their playoffs first-round jinx.

“The magic choked so bad” – Cleveland Cavaliers win NBA Playoffs series without LeBron James for the first time since 1993

Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers (via Open Source/X)

Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Orlando Magic 106-104 in a thriller at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio after coming back from a 10-point first-half deficit to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals, their first without LeBron James since 1993. Their comeback was initiated in the third quarter which they won by a margin of 33-15. 

Led by star forward Donovan Mitchell who scored 39 points, had nine rebounds, and created five assists. Caris LeVert assisted the cause with 15 points, five rebounds, and four assists. 

For the Orlando Magic, last season’s Rookie of the Year, Paolo Banchero had a great night for the Magic with an output of 38 points, 16 rebounds, and two assists but it just wasn’t enough to see them through as the Cavs needed it more to advance further in the series. 

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The Cavs fans would be grateful to Mitchell, who just like in their last game where he scored 50 points but still ended up on the losing side, for taking it upon himself to see them break the jinx of not making it beyond the first round. Not helped by the Magic team that displayed their inexperience in the second half.

Fans react to Cleveland Cavaliers advancing to Eastern Conference semi-finals

The Cleveland Cavaliers finally broke the curse of not advancing past round one of the NBA Playoffs with a hard-fought Game 7 win over the Orlando Magic team earlier today. Thanks to an inspired Donovan Mitchell. 

Fans took to popular social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) to share in the moment in what was a historic win for the Ohio-based franchise. Here are some of the reactions:

With the victory worth celebrating as it was no easy feat, bigger challenges lie ahead. The Cavs win means they will have to face the title favorites, the Boston Celtics in the semifinals, and with the odds against them, the Cavs surely have to “Let Em Know” that it’s not going to be a walk-in-the-park encounter. 

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