Cavaliers confounded by Magic in Game Three loss

  I've thought from the beginning that the Cleveland Cavaliers would win their series against the Orlando Magic in five or six games.

I also thought if there was one game that Orlando would almost certainly win it would be game three, with a pumped-up Magic squad grabbing their return to Orlando and not letting the game go behind an excited crowd.

 I did not foresee Orlando leading by thirty-five points at the end of three quarters and handing Cleveland a 121-83 defeat that was the largest in Cavaliers history in the postseason.

Only three Cavaliers finished in double-figures in scoring with Jarrett Allen leading with fifteen points in the setback. Hopefully, the loss is only an aberration for the Cavaliers before game four on Saturday afternoon in Orlando.

I'm not going too in-depth for this loss because, after halftime, I was flipping back and forth between the game and the NFL Draft, and as Orlando lengthened the lead, I watched less and less but I will say this- Cleveland lost some of the luster that they gained at home in the first two games.

Orlando was the more physical team adding Wendell Carter to their starting lineup, outrebounding Cleveland by nineteen, and sending Jalen Suggs to guard Donovan Mitchell to hound the Cavaliers' alpha dog.

Cleveland signed Max Strus and Georges Niang in the off-season to increase their shooting (especially from three-point land) and have helped next to nil as the pair are a combined three for twenty-four in the series.

I am betting that this will be written off as a bad night and that may be the case but the Cavaliers will have much to prove Saturday in game four- both in how they play and the attitude that they bring to the arena.