On Saturday afternoon at 1 pm the Cleveland Cavaliers licked their wounds from their game 3 121-83 drubbing by the Orlando Magic for a game 4 rematch. To maintain control of the series, the Cavaliers needed to win this game. They faced a confident, young, and hungry team in the Orlando Magic, and they had their work cut out for them on the road in the playoffs.

They started strong and went into half time with a 60-51 lead. But they were outscored in the 3rd quarter 10-37. And the Cavaliers had a complete meltdown on the road. The Cavaliers shot for only 47.2% from the field. While the Orlando Magic shot for 55.8% in field goal percentage. The most telling stat was the Cavaliers were out rebounded 29-43 in the game. They were out played physically in the second half of this game. Also, the Cavs were only 4 for 17 on 3-point shots. That is only 23.5%. While Orlando was 12 of 26 for 46.2%. Jarrett Allen led the Cavs in scoring with 21 points in 28 minutes of play.  And both Allen and Evan Mobley had 9 rebounds each in the game. It appears that this team desperately needs to play at home and win at home.

Game 5 is scheduled for Tuesday April 30th in Cleveland. Now that the Cavs lost the two games in Orlando, they can take control of the series at home this Tuesday. If they are to be considered a contending team, they need to take care of business at home. The Cavs have failed to take back momentum and failed to build on that in this series. The Cavs are the better veteran team, and they can win at home against a team they should beat. It’s time to do just that.