The Orlando Magic are eager for another chance to play away from home, while the Los Angeles Clippers are looking forward to returning home, though not for the end of the playoffs.
Two more games could decide the series in the NBA playoffs on Friday night. The Magic will be hosting the Cleveland Cavaliers, while the Clippers will be visiting the Dallas Mavericks, having fallen behind 3-2 in their first-round matchups.
With Donovan Mitchell scoring 28 points and Evan Mobley making a crucial block in the final seconds of a one-point win on Tuesday night, Cleveland is very close to advancing to face Boston in the Eastern Conference semifinals. They have won Games 1, 2, and 5 at home.
On the other hand, Pablo Banchero and the Magic won Games 3 and 4 at home by a combined 61 points. They are confident they can force a seventh game back in Ohio on Sunday.
“You have to go take it,” said coach Jamahl Mosley, who talked with his team on Thursday about the challenge ahead.
“No game has been the same… Game 6 is going to be different than Games 3 and 4 at home. Just because you’re home does not mean you can play the exact same way you did then,” Mosley added. “You have to change a little bit of the energy, the effort. All those little things are going to matter.”
The winner between Dallas and Los Angeles will go up against Oklahoma City in the West semifinals.
After a big 30-point loss to the Mavs in Game 5, the Clippers are in danger of being eliminated. They played without Kawhi Leonard, who was injured for the third time. Paul George and James Harden only managed to score a combined 22 points, shooting 6-for-25.
“This isn’t how we’ve been playing in this series, and it’s not who we are,” George said. “We need to step up, especially in this situation.”
Mavs coach Jason Kidd expects the Clippers to play better on Friday night. “We need to protect our home court, knowing that in this series, both teams have won on the road, so we can’t take anything for granted,” Kidd said.
The Cavs and Magic have been battling it out in five games, exchanging elbows, trash talk, and negative energy. Game 6, or Round 6, is expected to be just as intense.
“We’re preparing for a tough fight,” Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “It’s going to be physical. We expect that. Mentally, we need to be ready from the start, there’s no easing into this one.”
The Cavaliers managed to pull off a win in the only close game of the series on Wednesday, even without starting center Jarrett Allen, who is dealing with a painful rib injury and might not be available.
