Magic’s Paolo Banchero Quickly Breaks Scoring Record Held by LeBron James in Game 7 vs. Cavaliers

May 5, 2024 Jimm Sallivan

Though six games, Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero’s first playoff series has been a rousing success.

The numbers tell all: in three Magic wins and three Cleveland Cavaliers wins in the first round, Banchero has averaged 25.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. His play has Orlando on the cusp of its first playoff series victory since 2010.

In the first half of Game 7 Sunday, however, Banchero went to another level. The Duke product exploded for 24 points against the Cavaliers—the most by a player 21 or younger in a Game 7 in the history of the NBA.

Whose record did he break? Cleveland fans may know this one.

Paolo Banchero had 24 points in the first half vs. the Cavs, passing LeBron James (2006) for the most points scored in a Game 7 by a player age 21 or younger in NBA history 🔥 pic.twitter.com/H5x3qqhbF3

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 5, 2024

That’s right—Cavaliers forward LeBron James scored 21 points in Game 7 of the 2006 Eastern Conference semifinals against the Detroit Pistons, which the Pistons won by the very ’06 score of 79-61.

Cleveland rallied from a big first-half deficit to take the lead against the Magic, but Orlando fans will have Banchero’s heroics win or lose.

5 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Cavaliers Rally Past Magic to Win First Playoff Series Without LeBron James in Over Three Decades

To tell the story of the Cleveland Cavaliers is—with a few exceptions—to tell the story of now-Los Angeles Lakers and former Cavaliers forward LeBron James. The NBA's longtime leading scorer was the architect of all five of the team's conference titles and every one of their playoff series wins since 1993...

...until Sunday. After going down by 18 during a nightmarish first half, Cleveland rallied past the Orlando Magic 106-94 to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Boston Celtics.

Guard Donovan Mitchell paced the Cavaliers with 39 points, nine rebounds and five assists, while forward Paolo Banchero tallied 38 points and 16 rebounds in defeat.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have won a NBA Playoffs series without LeBron James for the first time since 1993.
30 plus years.#Cavs
— Hayden Grove (@H_Grove) May 5, 2024

The last time Cleveland advanced in a playoffs without James, it defeated the New Jersey Nets three games to two in a best-of-five first round series—losing to guard Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the conference semifinals.

The Magic led the Cavaliers 49-31 with 4:17 left in the first half. Orlando's blown lead is the largest in a Game 7 since the NBA began tracking play-by-play data in 1997.

Cavs come back from 18 points down to beat Magic in Game 7. It's largest comeback in a Game 7 win in play-by-play era (since 1997), topping the 17 point rally for Blazers vs Nuggets in 2019 2nd round. Teams had been 0-34 down 18+ in Game 7s since 1997
— Josh Dubow (@JoshDubowAP) May 5, 2024

6 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

NBA Playoff Schedule: Full Rundown for Conference Semifinals

The first round of the 2024 NBA postseason had some great matchups, and things will only get better from here on out. Saturday marked the start of the second round of the playoffs, when true contenders battle against one another in an effort to reach the final four of their conference. Iron sharpens iron, after all, and this year's slate of Round 2 contests look pretty great across the board.

Fewer games means fewer overlapping broadcast times, too. After two weeks with up to three NBA games on every night, we're more or less back to the standard of an Eastern Conference tip-off around 7 p.m. ET and a Western Conference tip-off around 10 p.m. ET.

For your viewing habit purposes, here is the full schedule for the second round of the 2024 NBA playoffs, organized by series.

NBA Playoff Schedule for Second Round

Eastern Conference

(1) Boston Celtics v. (4) Cleveland Cavaliers

• Game 1: Cavaliers vs. Celtics, Tuesday, May 7 (7 p.m. ET, TNT)
• Game 2: Cavaliers vs. Celtics, Thursday, May 9 (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
• Game 3: Celtics vs. Cavaliers, Saturday, May 11 (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
• Game 4: Celtics vs. Cavaliers, Monday, May 13 (7 p.m. ET, TNT)
• Game 5 (if necessary): Cavaliers vs. Celtics, Wednesday, May 15 (TBD)
• Game 6 (if necessary): Celtics vs. Cavaliers, Friday, May 17 (TBD)
• Game 7 (if necessary): Cavaliers vs. Celtics, Sunday, May 19 (TBD)

(2) New York Knicks v. (3) Indiana Pacers

• Game 1: Pacers vs. Knicks, Monday, May 6 (7:30 p.m. ET, TNT)
• Game 2: Pacers vs. Knicks, Wednesday, May 8 (8 p.m. ET, TNT)
• Game 3: Knicks vs. Pacers, Friday, May 10 (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
• Game 4: Knicks vs. Pacers, Sunday, May 12 (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
• Game 5 (if necessary): Pacers vs. Knicks, Tuesday, May 14 (TBD)
• Game 6 (if necessary): Knicks vs. Pacers, Friday, May 17 (TBD)
• Game 7 (if necessary): Pacers vs. Knicks, Sunday, May 19 (TBD)

Western Conference

(1) Oklahoma City Thunder v. (5) Dallas Mavericks

• Game 1: Mavericks vs. Thunder, Tuesday, May 7 (9:30 p.m. ET, TNT)
• Game 2: Mavericks vs. Thunder, Thursday, May 9 (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
• Game 3: Thunder vs. Mavericks, Saturday, May 11 (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
• Game 4: Thunder vs. Mavericks, Monday, May 13 (9:30 p.m. ET, TNT)
• Game 5 (if necessary): Mavericks vs. Thunder, Wednesday, May 15 (TBD)
• Game 6 (if necessary): Thunder vs. Mavericks, Saturday, May 18 (8:30 p.m. ET)
• Game 7 (if necessary): Mavericks vs. Thunder, Monday, May 20 (8:30 p.m. ET)

(2) Denver Nuggets v. (3) Minnesota Timberwolves

• Game 2: Timberwolves vs. Nuggets, Monday, May 6 (10 p.m. ET, TNT)
• Game 3: Nuggets vs. Timberwolves, Friday, May 10 (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
• Game 4: Nuggets vs. Timberwolves, Sunday, May 12 (8 p.m. ET, TNT)
• Game 5 (if necessary): Timberwolves vs. Nuggets, Tuesday, May 14 (TBD)
• Game 6 (if necessary): Nuggets vs. Timberwolves, Thursday, May 16 (8:30 p.m. ET)
• Game 7 (if necessary): Timberwolves vs. Nuggets, Sunday, May 19 (TBD)

Key Dates for the 2024 NBA Playoffs

Aside from the all the above, the NBA postseason generally has a few key dates.

The first have already passed in the form of the play-in tournament, as well as the start of the first round. The Nuggets and Timberwolves kicked off the second round on Saturday, May 4. Below are several other key dates to look forward to.

• Conference Finals start dates: May 19-22, depending on the length of the second-round series.
• NBA Finals start date: Thursday, June 6 will be Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Finals. Sunday, June 9 will be Game 2. Game 3 will take place on Wednesday, June 12. Friday, June 14 will be Game 4.

First Round Results

Below are the full results for the first round of this year's postseason.

Eastern Conference

(1) Boston Celtics def. (8) Miami Heat in 5 games

(2) New York Knicks def. (7) Philadelphia 76ers in 6 games

(4) Cleveland Cavaliers def. (5) Orlando Magic in 7 games

(6) Indiana Pacers def. (3) Milwaukee Bucks in 6 games

Western Conference

(1) Oklahoma City Thunder def. (8) New Orleans Pelicans in 4 games

(2) Denver Nuggets def. (7) Los Angeles Lakers in 5 games

(3) Minnesota Timberwolves def. (6) Phoenix Suns in 4 games

(5) Dallas Mavericks def. (4) Los Angeles Clippers in 6 games

And that's everything you need to know about the second round of the 2024 NBA playoffs. Enjoy watching!

5 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Donovan Mitchell’s Unwavering Confidence in Darius Garland Paid Off in Cavaliers’ Win

Darius Garland was struggling mightily in the early stages of the Cleveland Cavaliers' 106–94 win over the Orlando Magic in Game 7 on Sunday.

Through three quarters, Garland had two points on 1-of-9 shooting, two turnovers and four fouls. The Cavaliers held an eight-point lead over the Magic heading into the fourth quarter, but if they were going to send Orlando home and advance in the playoffs, they needed their second-leading scorer to step up.

Television cameras caught veteran guard Donovan Mitchell chatting with Garland on the bench during the game. His message? Keep going.

"He kept trusting me," Garland said after the game. "... It’s cool to have him in my ear telling me to keep going, stay confident in myself and that the entire team and organization believes in me. I really needed it, so it was good.”

Love seeing Donovan Mitchell pumping up Darius Garland, trying to keep him engaged pic.twitter.com/nzwsEV2fh0
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) May 5, 2024

Garland delivered when it mattered most. The Magic were hanging around, trailing by eight points with six minutes to play. Garland missed a three-pointer, but after an offensive rebound, Mitchell shoveled it over to Garland again. This time, he connected to put Cleveland up double digits.

Mitchell went over to Garland and gave him a big hug.

Darius Garland cashes in to give the Cavs their largest lead of the game in the 4Q!
CLE can advance to the East Semis with a win on ABC#NBAPlayoffs presented by Google Pixel pic.twitter.com/mlRPNqoWZs
— NBA (@NBA) May 5, 2024

"To see him respond like that, when he hit that three, I knew he was back," Mitchell said. "Sometimes you just need that—second opportunity. ... That's huge. That's who he needs to be."

Garland scored 10 of his 12 points in the fourth quarter to help the Cavaliers finish off Orlando.

Cleveland now advances to the Eastern Conference semifinals to face the Boston Celtics, who finished the regular season with the NBA's best record (64–18). Game 1 between the Cavaliers and Celtics is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET Tuesday at TD Garden.

US Sports News

Magic’s Paolo Banchero Quickly Breaks Scoring Record Held by LeBron James in Game 7 vs. Cavaliers

Related Posts

Jimm Sallivan