NBA

Orlando Magic at Cleveland Cavaliers

· National Basketball Association
3-3, 1-3 Away
Final
109 - 120

6-0, 3-0 Home

Garland scores 25 points, Cavaliers improve to 6-0 with 120-109 win over Banchero-less Magic

Donovan Mitchell knocks down a contested runner

The Cavs are the only unbeaten team in the Eastern Conference. The last time Cleveland started 6-0 was in 2016 with LeBron James. The club's best start was 8-0 in 1976.

The early meeting between Orlando and Cleveland was a rematch of last season's tense opening-round playoff series won by the Cavs in seven games.

Banchero is expected to miss at least a month — and maybe longer — with a torn right oblique. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 draft was on an early tear, averaging 29 points with 8.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists before getting hurt Wednesday.

Orlando's Jalen Suggs scored a career-high 28 points and had eight rebounds and seven assists. Franz Wagner had 17 points.

Cleveland rookie Luke Travers made his NBA debut. The Australian scored four points in garbage time.

Takeaways Magic: Life without Banchero won't be easy, but it could lead to Suggs further developing his offensive game and others stepping up.

Cavaliers: Have bought into first-year coach Kenny Atkinson's offensive system by playing at a faster pace and shooting more 3-pointers.

Key moment The Magic hung around and were still within 10 late in the third quarter, when Cavs reserves Caris LeVert, Sam Merrill and Georges Niang all made 3-pointers in the final 2:17 to give Cleveland a 17-point lead going to the fourth.

Key stat Cleveland improved to 30-7 in Mitchell's last 37 regular-season games since January.

Up next The Magic continue their trip at Dallas on Sunday. The Cavs play Saturday in Milwaukee before hosting Bucks on Monday.

Regular Season Series

CLE leads series 1-0

Matchup Prediction

Cavaliers: 70.0%
Magic: 30.0%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Recent Plays

4th 0.0 End of Game 109 - 120
4th 0.0 End of the 4th Quarter 109 - 120
4th 9.1 Tristan da Silva makes free throw 1 of 1 109 - 120
4th 9.1 Sam Merrill shooting foul 108 - 120
4th 9.1 Tristan da Silva makes two point shot 108 - 120

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/orl.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originORL https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/cle.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originCLE
41-90 FG 44-87
45.6 Field Goal % 50.6
11-33 3PT 15-38
33.3 Three Point % 39.5
16-24 FT 17-20
66.7 Free Throw % 85.0
39 Rebounds 49
7 Offensive Rebounds 7
32 Defensive Rebounds 42
26 Assists 25
10 Steals 6
4 Blocks 4
14 Turnovers 12
0 Team Turnovers 1
14 Total Turnovers 13
0 Technical Fouls 0
0 Total Technical Fouls 0
0 Flagrant Fouls 0
23 Points Conceded Off Turnovers 17
21 Fast Break Points 20
56 Points in Paint 46
17 Fouls 21
0 Largest Lead 22

Game Information

Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse

Location: Cleveland, OH
Attendance: 19,432 · Capacity:

2024-25 Southeast Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Orlando 19 12 .613 - W2
Miami 14 13 .519 3 W1
Atlanta 15 15 .500 3.5 W1
Charlotte 7 22 .241 11 L5
Washington 4 23 .148 13 L2

2024-25 Central Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Cleveland 26 4 .867 - W5
Milwaukee 16 12 .571 9 W2
Indiana 15 15 .500 11 W5
Chicago 13 17 .433 13 L2
Detroit 13 17 .433 13 W2
Full Standings

NBA News

Stat Stories: Monday's standout NBA fantasy performances

Stat Stories: Monday's standout NBA fantasy performances

Check out some of the top performers in fantasy NBA from Monday, including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Victor Wembanyama.

NBA Christmas Day matchups that lived up to the hype

NBA Christmas Day matchups that lived up to the hype

The NBA on Christmas Day is one of the league's oldest traditions with the game's biggest stars often clashing on the holiday.

Breakout seasons for NBA players under age 25: Nine most improved

Breakout seasons for NBA players under age 25: Nine most improved

The 2021 No. 1 pick finally figuring it out? A bright spot on the middling Hawks? The stats behind the improvement of these under-25 NBA players stand out.

NBA betting: One bet to make on each of the awards races

NBA betting: One bet to make on each of the awards races

Andre Snellings and Eric Moody pinpoint one bet to make on each of the NBA awards. races.

NBA on Christmas Day: Key questions, top players, big matchups

NBA on Christmas Day: Key questions, top players, big matchups

LeBron vs. Steph and Wemby's Christmas Day debut -- our NBA insiders preview the five-game holiday slate by answering team's biggest questions.