The Orlando Magic suffered their worst loss of the season on Tuesday, a 40-point blowout to the Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers.

It was the first time the two teams had met at the Kia Center since game six of the first round in the 2024 playoffs. In that contest, Orlando staved off a 50-point performance from Cleveland’s all-star guard Donovan Mitchell, as it secured a 103-96 victory to force a decisive game seven.

The Cavs would ultimately close out the Magic with a game seven win at home, capping off a series in which neither team won a road game.

The Magic entered Tuesday’s matchup with the league’s top-ranked scoring defense, holding opponents to an average of 105.5 points per game. Conversely, Cleveland arrived in Central Florida boasting the best scoring offense in the NBA while averaging nearly 123 points per game. Both teams were missing starters, as Jalen Suggs (quad) and Darius Garland (hip) did not suit up.

As owners of the worst scoring offense in the league and the second-worst field goal percentage offense, Orlando opened the night with familiar shooting struggles, as it went 4-22 from the field in the first quarter. Defensively, the Magic failed to contain the Cavs’ offense early, which put up 34 points in the first 12 minutes.

By halftime, the Magic trailed 57-43 after shooting 16-44 from the field while allowing Cleveland to shoot 55% from deep.

The Cavs would continue their three-point onslaught into the second half. To make matters worse, Magic guard Cole Anthony— who started in place of Suggs— hyperextended his knee in the third quarter, which created another obstacle for a struggling Orlando offense already without its starting point guard.

In the face of a rapidly growing late-game deficit, reserves took the floor and fans flooded the exits of the Kia Center before the final buzzer. The Cavs finished the game shooting 59.9% from deep, as Max Strus, De’Andre Hunter and Ty Jerome contributed 13 of Cleveland’s 19 made three-point attempts. Moreover, the Magic were held to 17.9% shooting from beyond the arc as they stumbled to their second lowest point total of the season.

“There is no rhyme or reason, we got our butts kicked,” Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley said after the game. “Give Cleveland a ton of credit for how they’re playing and what they’re doing.”

“We didn’t play our style of basketball,” Mosley added.

Cavs guard Donovan Mitchell reflected on the win while acknowledging last season’s playoff struggles against Orlando.

“We haven’t won here throughout the playoffs,” Mitchell said. “We got blown out twice, and then in game six we lost and didn’t really score much in the fourth; those are things you learn from.”

“It fuels your summers and that is what you saw tonight.”

Frustrated with the outcome, all-star forward Paolo Banchero—who led the Magic with 26 points— addressed the team’s psyche.

“I don’t know, you have to ask everybody else,” Banchero said. “I mean, obviously, it’s an embarrassing game, you know?”

“Guys have to be pissed off by this,” Banchero added. “Everyone needs to be pissed off by this and it’s got to change.”

“You know, we can’t just keep saying it. Something has to change.”