In a first-round series between two of the NBA’s best defensive teams, Evan Mobley may have made the biggest defensive play.
Franz Wagner drove for a game-tying layup in the final seconds of Game 5, only to have Mobley reject his shot from behind. Max Strus grabbed the rebound and Donovan Mitchell’s two free throws iced the game in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 104-103 defeat of the Orlando Magic.
Cleveland was playing without starting center Jarrett Allen, but Mobley stepped up in his stead down the stretch. His dunk with 1:43 left gave the Cavaliers a lead they’d never give up, and he added another layup in the final minute for a cushion Cleveland badly needed late.
Mobley finished with 14 points, 13 rebounds, two blocks and two steals. In the first game of the series where both teams cracked 100 points, Mobley was huge in matching up with a very big Orlando teams.
Donovan Mitchell provided 14 fourth-quarter points for Cleveland, going 9-for-10 from the free throw line in the quarter. Cleveland needed that, because Paolo Banchero scored 16 in the final quarter, along with two triples.
While Wagner hit a layup to cut the lead to two with 30 seconds left, that was his only made basket of the quarter, and he also missed a free throw.
Now, Cleveland has two chances to block Orlando’s path to second round, because Mobley blocked Wagner first.