Cavs open playoffs with tough-minded victory over Magic
Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points, Jarrett Allen had 18 rebounds and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Orlando Magic 9783 in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference playoff series on Saturday.
Evan Mobley added 16 points for Cleveland, which got bullied and bounced in just five games by the New York Knicks in the 2023 postseason.
That experience scarred the Cavs, who entered these playoffs more confident, deeper (at least on paper) and relatively healthy after a regular season filled with injuries.
Mitchell has been slowed for two months with a left knee bone bruise, but the All-Star guard moved well and looked much more like himself as Cleveland's only viable offensive threat for more than two quarters.
Orlando's Paolo Banchero scored 24 points in his playoff debut, but had nine turnovers. The Magic shot just 33% from the field — some of it attributed to bad shooting, some of it because of Cleveland's defense.
Like the Cavs a year ago, the Magic lack playoff experience and it showed.
NFL GABRIEL, AP MVP IN 1969, DIES AT 83 >>
Roman Gabriel, the former North Carolina State quarterback who was the 1969 NFL MVP with the Los Angeles Rams, died Saturday. He was 83.
Gabriel's son, Roman III, announced his father's death in a socialmedia post, saying he had “passed away peacefully” that morning of natural causes at home.
He was the No. 2 overall NFL draft pick of the Rams, where he played from 1962-72 before playing with the Philadelphia Eagles from 1973-77. He was the MVP in 1969, throwing for 2,549 yards and 24 touchdowns to go with five rushing scores.
Track DUPLANTIS SETS A POLE VAULT WORLD RECORD >>
Armand Duplantis broke his own world record in the pole vault when he cleared 6.24 meters at the seasonopening Diamond League meet in China.
Sweden's Duplantis told a pre-meet news conference that he never puts limits on himself and was always capable of a record.
The Olympic and twotime world champion proved that Saturday night, setting a world record for the eighth time in his career as he surpassed the mark of 6.23 he set last September at the Diamond League meet in Eugene, Oregon.
Tennis TWO-TIME MAJOR CHAMPION MUGURUZA RETIRES >>
Two-time major champion Garbiñe Muguruza announced she's retiring from professional tennis at age 30 after an extended time away from the court.
Muguruza beat Serena Williams in the 2016 French Open final and Venus Williams in the 2017 Wimbledon final, making her the only player to defeat each Williams sister in a Grand Slam title match.
The Spanish player earned 10 career titles and was also the runner-up at 2015 Wimbledon and the 2020 Australian Open.