10-Year Orlandoversary: Magic Make Furious Rally to Steal Game 1 in Cleveland

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The Orlando Magic were in the Eastern Conference Finals for just the third time in franchise history as they began their series against the Cleveland Cavaliers on May 20, 2019.

Entering Game 1, Orlando had never won a road game in the conference finals. That changed on this day 10 years ago as the Magic made a furious rally to down top-seeded Cleveland, 107-106.

The Cavaliers had owned the NBA's home record and early on, it looked like business as usual as Cleveland raced to a 33-17 lead in the first quarter. The Magic were able to get as close as 10 in the second quarter, but the Cavaliers pushed that to 63-48 at the break as Mo Williams nailed a 70-footer as time expired.

The final two quarters however, would be dominated by Orlando. The Magic whittled the lead to four entering the final period and took their first lead on a 3-pointer by Anthony Johnson less than two minutes into the fourth.

The Magic would lead by as many as four in the final quarter, but Cleveland guard Delonte West knocked in a 3-pointer with 40 seconds to play to put Cleveland back in front, 103-102. Rashard Lewis answered with a jumper on the other end to put Orlando ahead, but Cleveland forward and league MVP LeBron James answered with a 3-point play with 25.6 seconds to go in the game.

Orlando again turned to Lewis as he found himself isolated against Anderson Varejao. Lewis was able to fire from beyond the arc over Varejao for the go-ahead 3-pointer that put Orlando ahead with less than 15 seconds to play, 107-106.

West's go-ahead 3-point attempt with less than five seconds to go was no good and a jump ball between James and Orlando's Hedo Turkoglu was called with one second to play. Williams would catch the tip for Cleveland, but his jumper as time expired went long and the Magic prevailed.


Orlando, the No. 3 seed in the East, was coming off a Game 7 victory at Boston when they arrived in Cleveland. To that point, the Cavaliers had lost just twice at home and not at all during the playoffs. That changed with Orlando's furious comeback.

As a team, the Magic shot 55 percent from the field, 59 percent in the second half and 9-for-20 from deep. Dwight Howard led the team with 30 points and 13 rebounds. Lewis added 22 points on 9-for-13 shooting while Turkoglu scored 15 points to go with a game-high 14 assists. Mickael Pietrus and Rafer Alston added 13 and 11 points, respectively, in the victory.

James paced Cleveland with 49 points, six rebounds, eight assists and three blocks. Williams added 17 points with Zydrunas Ilgauskas recording a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Comeback efforts for the Magic in Game 2 and Game 5 in Cleveland fell just short as the loss for the Cavaliers would serve as their final home defeat of the regular season. The Magic managed to take care of business at home and win the series in six games to advance to the NBA Finals for just the second time ever. The 16-point comeback was the largest in the playoffs for Orlando in 12 years and it came on this day one decade ago.

Mike Ferguson is the founder of Magic Memories. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson.