Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell celebrates a three-point basket Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Incredible stat emerges after Cavaliers advance to second round

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated 5/5/24

The Cleveland Cavaliers survived the Orlando Magic on Sunday by winning Game 7 at home to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals. In doing so, they accomplished something the franchise has not managed to do in over three decades.

The seven-game series win over the Magic marked the Cavaliers’ first playoff series win since 2018. More remarkably, it is the first time the franchise has won a playoff series without LeBron James since 1993, when they beat the New Jersey Nets 3-2 in what was then a best-of-five format.

1993: The last time the Cleveland Cavaliers won a playoff series without LeBron James.

Fun stat from @davidkinderii. pic.twitter.com/lnQYGCTXll

— Nick Camino (@NickCaminoWKYC) May 5, 2024

That Cavaliers team was powered by the likes of Brad Daugherty, Mark Price and Larry Nance Sr. After beating the Nets in five, they were swept by the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls, who went on to win the NBA title. The Cavs would subsequently make the playoffs four more times in the 1990s, but failed to win a series in any of those appearances.

Donovan Mitchell was largely responsible for carrying Cleveland over Orlando and in to the second round. He and his team will face a much more difficult task against the Boston Celtics.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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