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Paolo Banchero (22) scored 24 points as the Orlando Magic overturned a 13-point deficit to end the Cleveland Cavaliers' 16-game NBA unbeaten streak with a gutsy 108-103 road victory on Sunday.
Cleveland, the runaway Eastern Conference leaders, had looked poised to extend their franchise-record winning run after surging clear of Orlando early in the third quarter. But after a season where they have staged hefty winning comebacks of their own, the tables turned on Cleveland in the face of a furious burst of Orlando scoring.
The Magic outscored Cleveland 35-23 in the third quarter with Franz Wagner leading the charge with nine points and Banchero adding seven. Although Cleveland led by a slender 83-82 margin heading into the fourth quarter and threatened to stretch away once more after Donovan Mitchell's dunk made it 91-84, Orlando refused to roll over.
Eight more points from Wagner in the final frame and five apiece from Banchero and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope saw the Magic home to silence a 19,432 sellout crowd at Cleveland's Rocket Arena.
Former No. 1 NBA Draft pick Banchero finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists while Wagner added 22 points with eight rebounds and two assists as Orlando improved to 32-37 to remain eighth in the Eastern Conference standings. "It's a big win," Banchero said after what was the final leg of a five-game road trip for Orlando. "We knew this was going to be probably the toughest game of the trip. To come in here... against one of the better teams in the league, also on a win streak - big win." Mitchell led the Cleveland scoring with 23 points, with Jarrett Allen finishing with 20 and Darius Garland adding 19.
Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson praised Orlando's performance and said it demonstrated the depth of quality in the league. "Huge credit to them," Atkinson said. "This league is humbling, and if you think you've won 16 in a row or whatever, right around the corner is a playoff team and a tough team to play."
