Donovan Mitchell, Cavaliers deliver Game 7 magic to defeat Orlando, advance to conference semis
New York TimesCLEVELAND — Whether or not Donovan Mitchell’s long-term future with the Cavaliers is in doubt, the city belongs to him right now. Mitchell, successor to LeBron James in Cleveland in so many ways, led the franchise to its first playoff series victory without The King since 1993 in a 106-94 win over the Orlando Magic in Game 7 of their first-round series. “It’s an honor, obviously, to be part of history in that regard,” Mitchell added, when asked about leading the Cavs to their first series win without LeBron in 31 years. Donovan got downhill quite a bit.” Cleveland tanked the fourth quarter of its last regular-season game to make sure it finished fourth in the Eastern Conference and drew Orlando in the first round. Max Strus, scoreless in the first half, scored 11 of his 13 points in the third quarter — including a 3-pointer with 2:23 left in the third for a 71-68 lead Cleveland never relinquished.