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Donovan Mitchell leads Cavaliers past Magic
CLEVELAND | Donovan Mitchell scored 39 points, Caris LeVert added 15 and the Cleveland Cavaliers avoided a potentially franchise-shifting loss by rallying for a 106-94 win over the Orlando Magic on Sunday in Game 7 to advance in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
The Cavs trailed by 18 in the first half and were in danger of being knocked out in the first round for the second year in a row — a scenario that may have led to firings.
But Mitchell, who scored 50 in a Game 6 loss at Orlando and has been battling a left knee injury for months, put the Cavs on his back. He carried them past an up-and-coming-fast Orlando team whose playoff inexperience showed in the second half.
Evan Mobley grabbed 16 rebounds and Darius Garland hit a critical 3-pointer in the fourth for Cleveland, which won its first playoff series without LeBron James since 1993.
The Cavs will now begin the second round on the road against the top-seeded and well-rested Boston Celtics in Game 1 on Tuesday.
In the closing minutes, Cleveland’s towel-waving crowd chanted “We want Boston!” — a matchup that didn’t look likely an hour earlier.
Paolo Banchero scored 38 — just 14 after halftime — and added 16 rebounds to lead the Magic, who grew up in the series but couldn’t figure out how to win in Cleveland as both teams held serve on their floors.
Orlando’s Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs went a combined 3 of 28 from the field.
Down by 10 at halftime, Cleveland raised its defensive intensity in the third quarter and outscoring Orlando 33-15. The Magic went just 4 of 24 from the field in the period and seemed hesitant while waiting Banchero to do more.
The Cavs were up 85-77 in the fourth when Garland, who showed frustration earlier in the half before getting a pep talk on the bench from Mitchell, drained a 3-pointer from the corner to put Cleveland up 11.
After his shot dropped and Orlando called a timeout, a relieved Garland hugged Mitchell, who was acquired in a trade two years ago from Utah to hopefully get Cleveland closer to another championship.
The Cavs took another step with him.
Cleveland was again without starting center Jarrett Allen, who missed the final three games in the series with a painful rib injury sustained from an errant Magic elbow.
Before he got hurt, Allen was Cleveland’s most consistent player against the Magic, getting 20 rebounds in Game 2 while giving the Cavs a defensive presence underneath to at least deter Orlando drives.
Led by the 21-year-old Banchero, the Magic, who only won 22 games two years ago before they selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, were 24 minutes from winning a series they trailed 2-0.
But Orlando didn’t have enough — or Mitchell.
Whenever the Cavs needed a big play, the All-Star guard made one. Whenever a teammate needed support, he was there. And in scoring 89 points in the final two games, Mitchell may have finally silenced critics who point to his inability to close in the playoffs.
The Cavs trailed by 18 in the first half and seemed on the verge of an early summer.
But with LeVert and Sam Merrill providing a spark, Cleveland was able to cut into Orlando’s lead. Cleveland missed its first nine 3-pointers and was in big trouble down 47-39.
LeVert, who has been slowed by a knee injury, attacked the basket and scored on two drives and Merrill hit his second 3-pointer as the Cavs, who started 0 for 9 on 3s, made seven of their last nine shots to pull within 53-43 at halftime.
The offensive woes that plagued Cleveland in the fourth quarter of Game 6 — when Mitchell scored all 18 points for the Cavs — carried over.
There was too much standing around, bad shots and turnovers, and when the Magic reeled off 13 straight to open a 10-point lead, Cleveland’s crowd let the Cavs know it with more than a smattering of boos.
But in the end, as Mitchell dribbled out the final seconds and all was forgotten.
Brooks Koepka wins
LIV Golf in Singapore
SINGAPORE | Brooks Koepka shot a 3-under 68 on Sunday to win the LIV Golf tournament in Singapore, his fourth victory on the circuit.
Koepka finished at 15-under 198 for the three rounds, two ahead of Australians Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith. Leishman finished with a 66 and Smith a 64 at the Sentosa Golf Club.
Koepka had four birdies and a bogey.
Talor Gooch shot 67 and finished in fourth place, three strokes behind Koepka.
Koepka has the four LIV titles to go with five major championships. The latest was the PGA Championship in 2023. Koepka was the seventh different LIV winner in seven events this season.
Koepka, who has been struggling with his game, now heads to defend his title at the PGA Championship starting May 16 at Valhalla in Louisville, Kentucky.
“It’s all starting to come around,” Koepka said after the victory. “I’ve put in a lot of work — on the golf course, off the golf course. So to see it pay off here is huge.”
Jon Rahm, who has yet to win after joining LIV in December, ended up six strokes behind after a 67. He finished tied for 10th. Rahm is the only player to have finished in the top 10 in all seven events in 2024.
The team title went to Ripper GC led by Leishman and Smith. They were 32-under for the tournament, three ahead of two other teams — Fireballs GC and Cleeks GC.
The next LIV tournament is June 7-9 in Houston, Texas.
Rublev wins Madrid Open for the first time, beating Auger-Aliassime
MADRID | Andrey Rublev rallied to beat Felix Auger-Aliassime in three sets on Sunday and win the Madrid Open for the first time.
Rublev won 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 after Auger-Aliassime double-faulted on the last point of the final at the clay-court tournament in the Spanish capital.
It was the second Masters 1000 title for the eighth-ranked Rublev. The 26-year-old Russian also won at Monte Carlo last year. Auger-Aliassime was playing in his first final at this level.
Rublev entered Madrid on a four-game losing streak after early exits at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo and Barcelona. One of his victories in Madrid came in the quarterfinals against home-crowd favorite Carlos Alcaraz.
He now has 16 career titles, and two this season after Hong Kong in January. He had arrived with a 5-1 record against Auger-Aliassime, including a win in their sole matchup on clay.
Auger-Aliassime’s path to the final saw second-ranked Jannik Sinner withdraw because of an injury ahead of the quarterfinals, and Jiri Lehecka retired against the Canadian in the first set of the semifinals.
Other injuries hit the men’s draw in Madrid, starting with Novak Djokovic’s withdrawal before the tournament. Daniil Medvedev retired in the quarterfinals, while Alcaraz was hampered by a sore right arm and Rafael Nadal bowed out of what was likely his last appearance in his home country.
Iga Swiatek won the women’s title for the first time in her career on Saturday.
Pantoja unanimously outpoints Erceg at UFC 301
RIO DE JANEIRO | Hometown champion Alexandre Pantoja unanimously outpointed Australian Steve Erceg on Saturday night to retain his flyweight championship at UFC 301.
Pantoja (28-5), the 34-year-old flyweight champion dominated the fight against Erceg (12-2), but was unable to secure the win before five rounds.
Pantoja, who claimed the belt last July after defeating Mexican Brandon Moreno, defended his title last November against Brandon Royval and now in his hometown took care of Erceg to have a six-match winning streak and remains undefeated in almost four years.
The 28-year-old Ercerg, defeated David Dvořák and Alessandro Costa and Mattew Schnell to challenge Pantoja.
In the co-main event, one of Brazil’s former world champions, Jose Aldo, returned to the octagon after 21 months and toppedAmerican Jonathan Martinez by unanimous decision.
Aldo, who lost to Merab Dvalishvili in his previous fight, dominated the fight and took care of Martinez, who has won six in a row.
Also on the main card, Brazilians Caio Borralho knocked out Paul Craig in the second round, and Michel Pereira won by submission against Igor Potieria in the first round. Also, American Anthony Smith defeated local fighter Vitor Petrino by submission in the first round.
—From AP reports
