The Orlando Magic emphatically evened their best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round series with the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday afternoon, using a 37-10, third-quarter flurry to erase a halftime deficit and steamroll toward a 112-89 shellacking in Game 4.
Franz Wagner had 12 of his game-high 34 points and three teammates chipped in with a combined five 3-pointers in the run, which turned a 60-51 Cavaliers advantage at the break into an 88-70 Magic romp by third quarter’s end.
Game 5 in a series dominated by the home team is scheduled for Tuesday at Cleveland.
Donovan Mitchell had 18 points and teammates Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley combined for 28 while missing just three shots in a first half in which Cleveland led by as many as 10.
But Mitchell never scored again, and in fact the Cavaliers only made five field goals in the entire third quarter, during which they added just 10 points to the 60 they had before halftime.
Meanwhile, the Magic made six 3-pointers in the third period, with Jalen Suggs and Wendell Carter Jr. drilling two apiece, and Wagner and Jonathan Isaac notching one each in the run-away.
Orlando went on to lead by as many as 30 in the fourth quarter before coasting home.
Isaac finished with 14 points, Suggs and Markelle Fultz 12 apiece and Carter 11 for the Magic, who shot 55.8 percent for the game and 46.2 percent on 3-pointers.
Wagner completed a double-double with a game-high 13 rebounds, while Paolo Banchero had a team-high five assists to go with nine points, four rebounds and two blocks.
Allen paced the Cavaliers with 21 points, while also finding time for a team-high-tying nine rebounds.
Mobley also had nine boards to go with 14 points, and Darius Garland added 14 points while tying Mitchell for team-high assist honors with six.
The Cavaliers finished 4-for-17 on 3-pointers, with Mitchell going just 1-for-4. The visitors were outscored 36-12 from beyond the arc.
–Field Level Media