Game ID: 22300792
Orlando Magic @ Cleveland Cavaliers
Thursday, February 22, 2024 at 7:00 PM ET
Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland, OH
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
CLE 24 26 32 27 109ORL 29 25 32 30 116
CLE vs ORL ScoutingCLE vs ORL Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
CLE availability going into 2/08 · back-to-backOUT Thompson missed 8 since 1/24, out tonight
BACK Garland back 1/31 after 19, 25 min since (73% of 34)
BACK Porter Jr. back 2/03 after 4, 2 min since (13% of 13)
CLE availability going into 2/10 · 1 day's restOUT Thompson missed 9 since 1/24, out tonight
BACK Porter Jr. back 2/03 after 4, 2 min since (17% of 13)
CLE availability going into 2/12 · 1 day's restOUT Thompson missed 10 since 1/24, out tonight
BACK Porter Jr. back 2/03 after 4, 2 min since (17% of 13)
CLE availability going into 2/14 · 1 day's restOUT Porter Jr. missed 2 since 2/10, out tonight
OUT Thompson missed 11 since 1/24, out tonight
CLE availability going into 2/22 · 7 days' restOUT Wade missed 2 since 2/12, returns tonight: 13 min (62% of 20)
OUT Porter Jr. missed 3 since 2/10, returns tonight: 4 min (30% of 13)
OUT Thompson missed 12 since 1/24, out tonight
CLE availability going into 2/23 · back-to-backOUT Thompson missed 13 since 1/24, out tonight
BACK Wade back 2/22 after 2, 13 min since (62% of 20)
BACK Porter Jr. back 2/22 after 3, 4 min since (30% of 13)
CLE availability going into 2/25 · 1 day's restOUT Mitchell missed 2 since 2/22, returns tonight: 36 min (101% of 36)
OUT Thompson missed 14 since 1/24, out tonight
BACK Wade back 2/22 after 2, 12 min since (58% of 20)
BACK Porter Jr. back 2/22 after 3, 5 min since (37% of 13)
CLE availability going into 2/27 · 1 day's restOUT Thompson missed 15 since 1/24, out tonight
BACK Mitchell back 2/25 after 2, 36 min since (101% of 36)
BACK Wade back 2/22 after 2, 11 min since (51% of 20)
BACK Porter Jr. back 2/22 after 3, 5 min since (37% of 13)
CLE availability going into 2/28 · back-to-backOUT Porter Jr. missed 2 since 2/25, out tonight
OUT Thompson missed 16 since 1/24, out tonight
BACK Mitchell back 2/25 after 2, 37 min since (104% of 36)
BACK Wade back 2/22 after 2, 10 min since (50% of 20)
ORL availability going into 2/08 · 1 day's restOUT Queen missed 5 since 1/29, out tonight
BACK Gar. Harris back 2/02 after 14, 20 min since (84% of 24)
BACK Bitadze back 2/06 after 3, 3 min since (21% of 15)
BACK Houstan back 2/06 after 4, 3 min since (23% of 13)
NEW Fultz 20 to 26 min over the last 4
ORL availability going into 2/10 · 1 day's restOUT Queen missed 6 since 1/29, out tonight
BACK Gar. Harris back 2/02 after 14, 20 min since (83% of 24)
BACK Bitadze back 2/06 after 3, 3 min since (20% of 15)
BACK Houstan back 2/06 after 4, 3 min since (22% of 13)
NEW Fultz 20 to 26 min over the last 5
ORL availability going into 2/13 · 2 days' restOUT Queen missed 7 since 1/29, out tonight
BACK Gar. Harris back 2/02 after 14, 21 min since (85% of 24)
BACK Bitadze back 2/06 after 3, 7 min since (45% of 15)
BACK Houstan back 2/06 after 4, 3 min since (22% of 13)
ORL availability going into 2/14 · back-to-backOUT Queen missed 8 since 1/29, returns tonight: 8 min (66% of 12)
BACK Bitadze back 2/06 after 3, 6 min since (38% of 15)
BACK Houstan back 2/06 after 4, 3 min since (21% of 13)
ORL availability going into 2/22 · 7 days' restBACK Bitadze back 2/06 after 3, 5 min since (36% of 15)
BACK Houstan back 2/06 after 4, 8 min since (63% of 13)
BACK Queen back 2/14 after 8, 8 min since (66% of 12)
ORL availability going into 2/24 · 1 day's restOUT Fultz missed 2 since 2/14, out tonight
BACK Queen back 2/14 after 8, 8 min since (66% of 12)
ORL availability going into 2/25 · back-to-backOUT Fultz missed 3 since 2/14, returns tonight: 12 min (58% of 20)
OUT Houstan missed 2 since 2/22, returns tonight: 20 min (153% of 13)
OUT Queen missed 2 since 2/22, out tonight
ORL availability going into 2/27 · 1 day's restOUT Queen missed 3 since 2/22, out tonight
BACK Fultz back 2/25 after 3, 12 min since (58% of 20)
BACK Houstan back 2/25 after 2, 20 min since (153% of 13)
ORL availability going into 2/29 · 1 day's restOUT Banchero missed 2 since 2/25, returns tonight: 35 min (99% of 35)
OUT Queen missed 4 since 2/22, out tonight
BACK Fultz back 2/25 after 3, 18 min since (90% of 20)
BACK Houstan back 2/25 after 2, 26 min since (192% of 13)
NEW Black 16 to 24 min over the last 5
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 105, shooting 50 percent and 35 from three, 20 free throws a game; Mitchell at 30 and Eva. Mobley at 16 a game. Without Wade (2 straight). 7 days' rest. Orlando comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 113, shooting 51 percent and 38 from three, 21 free throws a game; F. Wagner at 24 and Banchero at 23 a game. It has won the glass by 6 a night. 7 days' rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the defense, Cleveland allowing 105 a night to Orlando's 113 and the turnovers, Orlando giving it away 15 times a game to Cleveland's 11. Call it Cleveland 115, Orlando 109.
2/08 @ BKN 118-95 — CLE notes
CLE won 118-95. CLE shot 54% (43 of 80) to BKN's 40%, 15 of 37 from three. The glass went 48-34 for them. Mitchell led with 27 (10 of 18, 4 of 10 from three); Allen added 14, Garland 14. The hinge was Q3, 31-18: a lead of 8 became 21, and the lead reached 31. Mobley was the night's best plus/minus at +25.
2/10 @ TOR 119-95 — CLE notes
CLE won 119-95. CLE shot 52% (48 of 92) to TOR's 40%, 14 of 41 from three, and got to the line 13 times to TOR's 23. Allen led with 18 (9 of 12); Mobley added 17, Mitchell 15. The hinge was Q2, 37-23: a lead of 6 became 20, and the lead reached 25. Wade was the night's best plus/minus at +26.
2/12 vs PHI 121-123 — CLE notes
CLE lost 121-123. CLE shot 48% (44 of 92) to PHI's 55%, 13 of 37 from three, and went to the line 25 times to PHI's 19 — 20 points from the stripe to their 16. Mitchell led with 36 (9 of 20, 4 of 9 from three, 14 of 17 at the line); Allen added 21, Garland 21. Q3 was theirs, 30-25, turning a 4-point deficit into a 1-point lead, but the other 3 periods went 98-91 against them. Mobley's -11 in 28 minutes was the worst on the floor.
2/14 vs CHI 108-105 — CLE notes
CLE won 108-105. CLE shot 48% (40 of 83) to CHI's 46%, 12 of 37 from three. CLE turned it over 8 times to CHI's 14. Mitchell led with 30 (8 of 21, 2 of 8 from three, 12 of 13 at the line); Okoro added 16, Mobley 14. The hinge was Q4, 37-29: CLE came in trailing by 5 and left it ahead by 3. CLE trailed 43-49 at the half and won the second half 65-56. Allen was the night's best plus/minus at +9.
2/22 vs ORL 109-116 — CLE notes
CLE lost 109-116. CLE shot 56% (39 of 70) to ORL's 51%, 10 of 22 from three, and went to the line 26 times to ORL's 18 — 21 points from the stripe to their 16. Garland led with 18 (6 of 12, 3 of 5 from three); Allen added 18, Strus 18. Q2 was theirs, 26-25, the deficit cut from 5 to 4, but the other 3 periods went 91-83 against them. Niang's -20 in 16 minutes was the worst on the floor.
2/23 @ PHI — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Philadelphia comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 116, shooting 47 percent and 33 from three, 20 free throws a game; Maxey at 29 and Hield at 21 a game. Without Embiid (9 straight), Melton (18 straight), Covington (23 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 107, shooting 51 percent and 37 from three, 20 free throws a game; Mitchell at 27 and Allen at 17 a game. Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Cleveland wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Cleveland allowing 107 a night to Philadelphia's 116. Call it Cleveland 114, Philadelphia 113, Philadelphia keeping it close.
2/25 @ WAS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Washington comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 128, shooting 43 percent and 36 from three, 20 free throws a game; Avdija at 24 and Kuzma at 22 a game. That is 5 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 9 a night. One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 109, shooting 49 percent and 35 from three, 23 free throws a game; Mitchell at 27 and Allen at 19 a game. Without Mitchell (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Cleveland allowing 109 a night to Washington's 128 and the glass, where Cleveland has been minus-2 a night and Washington minus-9. Call it Cleveland 119, Washington 112.
2/27 vs DAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 111, shooting 49 percent and 34 from three, 26 free throws a game; Mitchell at 27 and Allen at 20 a game. One day's rest. Dallas comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 111, shooting 50 percent and 38 from three, 22 free throws a game; Dončić at 32 and Irving at 29 a game. Without Exum (12 straight). One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Dallas has been plus-4 a night and Cleveland minus-2. Call it Cleveland 115, Dallas 114, Dallas keeping it close.
2/28 @ CHI — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Chicago comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 115, shooting 46 percent and 33 from three, 20 free throws a game; DeRozan at 24 and Vučević at 20 a game. Without Craig (3 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 110, shooting 50 percent and 38 from three, 25 free throws a game; Mitchell at 26 and Allen at 19 a game. Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Chicago wins, and the game turns on the arc, Cleveland at 38 percent from three to Chicago's 33. Call it Chicago 113, Cleveland 112, Cleveland keeping it close.
2/08 vs SAS 127-111 — ORL notes
ORL won 127-111. ORL shot 60% (49 of 82) to SAS's 52%, 16 of 27 from three. The glass went 39-27 for them. F. Wagner led with 34 (13 of 17, 3 of 4 from three); Suggs added 17, Banchero 16. The hinge was Q2, 38-24: a lead of 3 became 17, and the lead reached 23. Fultz was the night's best plus/minus at +22.
2/10 vs CHI 114-108 — ORL notes
ORL won 114-108 in 1 overtime. ORL shot 47% (41 of 88) to CHI's 43%, 13 of 39 from three, and went to the line 26 times to CHI's 14 — 19 points from the stripe to their 10. ORL turned it over 15 times to CHI's 8, and CHI turned those into 10 steals. F. Wagner led with 36 (12 of 22, 5 of 12 from three, 7 of 10 at the line); Banchero added 19, Anthony 14. The hinge was Q4, 21-15: ORL came in trailing by 6 and left it level. Anthony was the night's best plus/minus at +16.
2/13 vs OKC 113-127 — ORL notes
ORL lost 113-127. ORL shot 45% (41 of 91) to OKC's 55%, 11 of 36 from three. ORL turned it over 16 times to OKC's 11, and OKC turned those into 9 steals. The glass went 48-31 for them. Banchero led with 23 (9 of 15, 0 of 3 from three, 5 of 6 at the line); Carter Jr. added 22, Suggs 17. Q1 was theirs, 32-31, but the other 3 periods went 96-81 against them. They led by as many as 11. Isaac's -24 in 15 minutes was the worst on the floor.
2/14 vs NYK 118-100 — ORL notes
ORL won 118-100. ORL shot 63% (48 of 76) to NYK's 42%, 12 of 26 from three, and got to the line 11 times to NYK's 24. Banchero led with 36 (15 of 20, 6 of 10 from three); F. Wagner added 21, Anthony 11. The hinge was Q2, 38-19: ORL came in trailing by 9 and left it ahead by 10, and the lead reached 23. F. Wagner was the night's best plus/minus at +25.
2/22 @ CLE 116-109 — ORL notes
ORL won 116-109. ORL shot 51% (43 of 84) to CLE's 56%, 14 of 25 from three, and got to the line 18 times to CLE's 26. M. Wagner led with 22 (7 of 12, 7 of 8 at the line); F. Wagner added 14, Anthony 13. The hinge was Q1, 29-24: from level to 5 ahead. Ingles was the night's best plus/minus at +23.
2/24 @ DET — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Detroit comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 121, shooting 45 percent and 36 from three, 19 free throws a game; Cunningham at 20 and Ivey at 16 a game. That is 4 straight losses. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Stewart (9 straight). One day's rest. Orlando comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 111, shooting 53 percent and 43 from three, 20 free throws a game; F. Wagner at 24 and Banchero at 21 a game. It has won the glass by 7 a night. Without Fultz (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Orlando wins, on the road, and the game turns on the arc, Orlando at 43 percent from three to Detroit's 36 and the defense, Orlando allowing 111 a night to Detroit's 121. Call it Orlando 117, Detroit 113, Detroit keeping it close.
2/25 @ ATL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Atlanta comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 123, shooting 45 percent and 33 from three, 29 free throws a game; Murray at 22 and Young at 19 a game. That is 3 straight losses. Without Okongwu (2 straight). One day's rest. Orlando comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 111, shooting 51 percent and 41 from three, 20 free throws a game; Banchero at 21 and F. Wagner at 20 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 6 a night. Without Fultz (3 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Atlanta wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Orlando has been plus-6 a night and Atlanta minus-3 and the arc, Orlando at 41 percent from three to Atlanta's 33. Call it Atlanta 118, Orlando 117, Orlando keeping it close.
2/27 vs BKN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Orlando comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 111, shooting 50 percent and 42 from three, 19 free throws a game; Banchero at 22 and F. Wagner at 17 a game. It has won the glass by 7 a night. One day's rest. Brooklyn comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 97 a night and allowing 112, shooting 42 percent and 32 from three, 18 free throws a game; Bridges at 17 and Thomas at 16 a game. Without Clowney (3 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Orlando wins, and the game turns on the arc, Orlando at 42 percent from three to Brooklyn's 32 and the glass, where Orlando has been plus-7 a night and Brooklyn minus-3. Call it Orlando 114, Brooklyn 106.
2/29 vs UTA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Orlando comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 102, shooting 51 percent and 44 from three, 19 free throws a game; Banchero at 21 and F. Wagner at 18 a game. It has won the glass by 4 a night. Without Banchero (2 straight). One day's rest. Utah comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 125, shooting 45 percent and 35 from three, 23 free throws a game; Sexton at 22 and Markkanen at 19 a game. One day's rest.
So: Orlando wins, and the game turns on the defense, Orlando allowing 102 a night to Utah's 125 and the arc, Orlando at 44 percent from three to Utah's 35. Call it Orlando 118, Utah 110.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
CLECL C. LeVert
CP C. Porter Jr.
DG D. Garland
DW D. Wade
EM E. Mobley
GN G. Niang
IO I. Okoro
JA J. Allen
MS M. Strus
SM S. Merrill
ORLAB A. Black
CA C. Anthony
FW F. Wagner
GH G. Harris
JI J. Ingles
JI J. Isaac
JS J. Suggs
MW M. Wagner
PB P. Banchero
WC W. Carter Jr.
CLE/ORL the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Moritz Wagner scores 22, Magic reserves shine in 116-109 win over Cavs without All-Star Mitchell
CLEVELAND -- — Moritz Wagner had 22 points, his younger brother, Franz, added 14 and the Orlando Magic returned from the All-Star break to beat Cleveland 116-109 on Thursday night, handing the Cavaliers just their third loss in 21 games.
The Cavs, who have been the NBA's hottest team since mid-December, played without leading scorer and All-Star Donovan Mitchell .
But that was no excuse as an inexperienced but improving Orlando team simply outplayed Cleveland from start to finish.
The Magic were tougher, stronger and more focused.
“The real teams start to play now," said Moritz Wagner, who added seven rebounds in 24 physical minutes. "As a young team that hasn’t really been there (in a playoff push), we need to embrace that and go there.”
Mitchell, who has been instrumental in Cleveland's rise to second in the Eastern Conference, sat out with an unspecified illness. The 27-year-old participated in the 3-point contest and played in his fifth All-Star game last weekend at Indianapolis. He was in the Cavs' locker room following the game.
Orlando played the final 22 minutes without starting guard Jalen Suggs , who went out midway through the third quarter with a head injury and didn’t return. The team said Suggs was hit accidentally by teammate Wendell Carter Jr .
But the Magic's reserves stepped up in the second half, especially backup guard Cole Anthony , who had 13 points and six assists in 18 minutes while taking Suggs' spot.
Orlando's bench outscored Cleveland's 63-24.
“Our bench unit was fantastic,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “They came out ready to compete defensively early on, and there is a high level of trust they have with each other.”
Moritz Wagner's 3-pointer put the Magic ahead 107-95 with 4:41 left before the Cavs went inside to center Jarrett Allen for two straight buckets, and Evan Mobley 's basket pulled Cleveland within 111-103.
That's when 0rlando All-Star Paolo Banchero , who went just 4 of 15 from the field, hit a 3-pointer from the right wing to put the Magic up by 11. The Cavs scrapped, but couldn't get closer than seven in the final two minutes and fell to 23-6 since Dec. 16.
Allen finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Darius Garland added 18 points and 10 assists for the Cavs, who made too many mistakes.
“Kudos to them,” Allen said. “They did play an excellent game. It’s also on us, we had 17 turnovers. That’s unacceptable for what we’re trying to do. It was a lot of just throwing the ball out of bounds. I had a couple where I just lost the ball. We were just all making mistakes."
Moritz Wagner punished the Cavs.
The 6-foot-11 center pushed his way to the rim on several occasions. He was also animated throughout the game, even drawing a technical in the second half.
“Don’t let his build fool you, Mo’s strong,” Anthony said. "He’s a force. He threw the first punch — shoulders, elbows — and was initiating contact. He set the tone with how physical he was.”
The loss begins a grueling stretch for the Cavs, who will play five games in seven nights and nine in the next 14 days. Cleveland's daunting schedule over the final six weeks of the regular season includes seven back-to-backs.
“It’s only one game,” Cavs guard Max Strus said. “So first game back from the break, obviously we would’ve liked to play a little tougher and better on the defensive end, but there’s a lot of ways that we could have improved. Can’t let this continue to be a thing.”'