Facing elimination at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Orlando Magic might be nearing a brutal end to their incredible season. Heading into the final quarter trailing by five points and a 2-3 series deficit, things are not looking too good for the young Magic squad. However, they might turn things around in the final period as Cleveland’s best player, Donovan Mitchell suffered a major injury scare in the third quarter that led him straight to the locker room.

Already dealing with knee issues since the latter half of the season that caused him to miss 27 regular season games, Mitchell came into tonight’s game banged up. Despite that, he mustered the energy to play through the injury. Then, while hitting a sidestep jump shot around the nine-minute mark in the third quarter, Mitchell stepped awkwardly on his left leg, which might have re-aggravated his knee.

Mitchell couldn’t plant his left leg on the floor because of pain. After the shot, he fell straight to the floor, grabbing his knee. Soon after, Mitchell checked out of the game, headed to the locker room, and got reassessed around the 5-minute mark.

While going inside, Mitchell took a sigh of relief. He put his head down and held his knee once more before he could walk. Meanwhile, on the court, Orlando was taking advantage of this situation. They quickly grabbed the opportunity to shoot 2 three-pointers to cut the Cavs’ lead down to one. While people thought that its over for the Cleaveland side and Mitchell wouldn’t return now, he surprised everyone by getting back with just 3 minutes left on the clock in the third quarter.

Orlando forces Game 7 despite Donovan Mitchell’s return

Soon after Mitchell returned to the floor, he continued his dominant form. He hit buzzer-beaters close to the third quarter and displayed a relatively milder version of his “athleticism”. He did all he could, all while limping and hobbling up and down the floor. This way, he managed to score 32 points through three quarters, silencing the crowd in Orlando that was hooting as they saw Magic take over the court. But Magic isn’t one to back down too, especially with the home-court advantage they had tonight. They soon shifted the momentum in the last 12 minutes of the game. Coming out with great energy, Paolo Banchero and Co. outscored the Cavs by twelve points in the final quarter and won the game 103-96.

But the man of the game was Donovan Mitchell. He poured his heart and soul out tonight. Despite all the pain, he dropped 50 points in the brutal loss. His teammates tried their best too, but could not answer calls and eventually crumbled under pressure. Apart from Mitchell, only two more Cavs players scored double-digit points in the game. Meanwhile, on the Magic’s side, Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, and Jalen Suggs took matters into their own hands and scored a combined 75 points to force Game 7 in the thrilling series.

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With that, the series will now head back to Cleveland for a Win or Go Home game on Sunday. Who do you think will come out on top in Game 7?