The Cleveland Cavaliers will be hoping the trend of the home team winning each game continues in their first-round series against the Orlando Magic as the two sides prepare for Game 7. Tipoff will be at 1 p.m. ET from Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, where the Cavaliers have held serve in this matchup. Here’s a look at Cleveland’s history when it comes to Game 7s.
There have been seven instances of the Cavaliers going to Game 7, with Cleveland winning five of those contests. The first Game 7 in franchise history came in 1976, when the Cavaliers beat the Washington Bullets in the conference semifinals. They would go on to lose to the Celtics in the conference finals.
The most notable Game 7s for Cleveland came during both LeBron James eras, with the results differing. James would lose two Game 7s in his first stint with the Cavaliers, falling to the Pistons and the Celtics in 2006 and 2008 respectively. In his return, the King was the master of Game 7. He won three deciding contests, with the most prominent being Cleveland’s win over the Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals to complete a comeback from a 3-1 deficit.
While the Cavaliers don’t have James anymore, they do have more experience overall than the Magic. Donovan Mitchell played in Game 7 when he was a member of the Jazz in the Orlando bubble, so he’s been here before. Unfortunately, Utah lost that game to the Nuggets.
According to DraftKings Sportsbook, the Cavaliers are 3.5-point favorites for Sunday’s game.