CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Evan Mobley delivered his own version of ‘The Block’ in the closing seconds to push the Cleveland Cavaliers within a victory of eliminating the Orlando Magic.
Donovan Mitchell scored 28, Darius garland 23 more to give the Cavs a 3-2 series lead over the Magic thanks to a 104-103 victory Tuesday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Here’s our top Wine & Gold Nuggets from Game 5.
The Block II – It wasn’t LeBron James in the closing minutes of Game 7 of the NBA Finals, but Mobley might have saved the Cavs season when he rejected Franz Wagner just to the left of the rim with 5 seconds remaining with the Cavs clinging to a 102-100 lead. “It was crazy,” Garland said. “No, it was a good box. We knew that he was going to go righty righty the whole time. He's been doing that in the last couple of games, so Evan just timed it perfectly and beat it off glass. It was a huge stop for us for sure.” Mobley’s block after Wagner drove the left side of the lane to the basket saved the day. “It was a big play,” Mobley said. “The game was on the line. I just went for it. I knew he was going to go for the layup. So went for it, got a clean block and we got the rebound, so got us to win. I'm just trying to make game-winning plays and winning plays as much as possible, especially [down] the stretch.” After Mobley met Wagner near the glass and swatted his shot from behind, Cavs forward Max Strus quickly gathered the loose ball and got it to Mitchell, who was fouled by Magic guard Jalen Suggs. Mitchell sank both free throws to make it a two-possession game, 104-100, with 3.2 seconds remaining. “Big time,” Mitchell said of Mobley’s block. “That's the Evan Mobley we know.” Paolo Banchero’s buzzer beating 3 that saw him finish with 39 points for the Magic was a moot point because of Mobley, who finished with 14 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots. “Defensively, he was huge,” Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “He had a great block. He guarded. It seemed like everybody out on the floor and that's what it came down to. It was going to come down to the trenches. It was going to come down to who was going to be able to get a stop in the moment. And Evan was phenomenal. Defensively containing the ball, challenging shots, forcing misses, and helping us rebound.”
Garland goes off – Garland erupted for 17 points in the first quarter and set the tone early for the Cavs. “I was so proud of Darius, the way he came out with the mindset, I'm going to be aggressive,” Bickerstaff said. “I think it's 17 points in the first quarter that sets the tone for us. And when you're playing against Orlando as good as they are defensively, you're going to have to find a way to ignite and be aggressive and make them pay and take the shots that are there. And I thought his way of leading us tonight was coming out extremely aggressive and confident.” Garland finished with 23 points, five assists and five rebounds. “I always wanted to come out, be aggressive, but I had a shot first mentality tonight,” Garland said. “So my whole thing going into the game tonight was just go be aggressive for myself first and then just look out for sprays to open teammates. But they just kept leaving me open, so a couple fell and just started. The rim just started looking big for me a little bit.”
Frantic fourth – After comfortable wins in the first four games of the series for both teams, the final quarter of Game 5 became a slugfest. “We did a lot of things well and give them credit,” Mitchell said. “They executed well. We fought on the boards and it's obviously tough when you don't have JA [Jarrett Allen] out there, but… Evan had a phenomenal 10 defensive rebounds down there. You know what I mean? Marcus [Morris] coming in and doing this thing. Max, myself, even DG coming in, getting five. It is a team effort, you know what I mean? It was great that we did that tonight. Now we got to go down there and do the same thing.” The game saw 12 lead changes and five ties over the final 12 minutes. “It was good for us. We really needed it,” Garland said. “We needed a close game like this in the playoffs just to go through the execution that we've been going through and just seeing where everybody's going to be at. So I'm glad it wasn't a blowout like the last [four], but I think it was just good for both teams to see the execution that we was going to go through and see the guys that that's going to be out there actually, because I think game six is going to be another close one.”
Old reliable – Veteran Marcus Morris had been waiting for his opportunity to contribute. “This was the first time I haven't actually touched the floor, so it was a little hard just because I knew that I could help in some type of capacity, [whether it be] physicality, being a veteran voice, whatever it was,” Morris said. “But I just stayed in the gym, kept my mental together, you know what I mean? And just kept working.” Prior to Game 5, Bickerstaff told him to “be ready” and Morris answered the call with 12 points off the bench. “He's not one of these dudes that just does all of this [talking], right? There's a lot of guys in this league that just do a lot of this [talking] and aren't willing to back it up,” Bickerstaff said. “Marcus is willing to lay it on the line and he has the courage to fight through whatever it may be. Take the shot, make the pass box out, whatever it is. He's not duck in the moment and when he talks, it's not lip service. People listen and he's got that reputation and respect around the league.”
Allen out – The Cavs played without center Jarrett Allen, who suffered a rib injury in Game 4. His availability for Friday night’s Game 5 is up in the air. “We have to see how he is,” Bickerstaff said. “I don't know if it's the whole series, if it's, you know what I mean? I don't know the answer to that question yet because it's a day-by-day type of thing.”
Round 1 schedule – Game 6: Friday, May 3 at Orlando, TBD; Game 7: Sunday, May 5, TBD.
Starting 5 – In the absence of Allen, Bickerstaff went Evan Mobley, Max Strus, Isaac Okoro, Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland Tuesday night.
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