The Cleveland Cavaliers’ latest unbeaten run is finally over.
After making history, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 16-game winning streak was stopped by Orlando Magic, who beat 108-103.
Cleveland especially lost the wire. After Max Strath drained a 3 to leave a 103-102 lead at 1:02, the Cavaliers were unable to score again from five shot attempts as Paolo Bancello’s jumper gave the magic the finest move.
The Cavaliers lost for the first time since February 4th, and for Donovan Mitchell, this would not have happened if Evan Mobley were the only ones in court.
Evan Mobley was eliminated from the weekend’s contest with Orlando after being injured after a hard fall in a previous matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies.
DeAndre Hunter, the nameless hero of the Cavaliers, has filled Mobley’s starting spot. But in the end, Cleveland still badly missed the presence of Star Big Man, facing a magical impressive size.
Mitchell led Cleveland in every possible way, finishing with 23 points. But without Mobley they failed to get the job done and keep the victory skid alive.
“1,000 percent,” Mitchell replied when asked how important it was to such a magical game.
“After the beginning of the year, I have been trying to convey it to you to understand it.
“Like I said, this is clearly a game where he helps him with a big time, but we should have won this game, so we had to be accountable to ourselves.
“It’s about us. But one day, when I say that, Evan Mobley believes who he is.”
Mobley has been the main driver of the Cavaliers’ meteor rise this season. After throwing in teams and Max Rookie extensions this past offseason, Mobley proved his suspicious person wrong when he took his game to the next level. He scores a career-high 18.6 points with 9.3 boards and 3.1 assists per game.
The 23-year-old’s advance this year has prompted his Cavs teammate Ty Jerome to campaign to win two separate awards.
Mobley would have been a tremendous help to Cavs against magic. Banchero (24), Franz Wagner (22) and Wendell Carter Jr. (16) had an inefficient night in productive scoring, so we can only imagine their production if the All-Stars were finally able to play.
Their defeat to magic simply demonstrates Mobley’s unwavering importance to the Cavaliers, and they want to welcome him as soon as possible.