Orlando's Game 1 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers was huge. Here's why.
Cleveland lost just two games at home all season long. One of those games was the season finale against the 76ers when LeBron James, among others, didn't play. The other was against the LA Lakers. The fact that Orlando just went into Cleveland and stole a game and gain the homecourt advantage is huge.
Also, it ends the Cavs' invincibility. People were running around saying "fo-fo-fo" to the Finals. It still could be a "fo-fo-five", but this wasn't supposed to happen like this. The Cavs won all of their previous eight playoff games by at least 10 points.
Orlando knows they can beat Cleveland in Florida. The Magic won 99-88 and 116-87 in their two tussles in Orlando.
First off, forget this stat. In NBA playoff history, the winner of the first game of a best-of-seven series goes on to win 79% of the series. To me, that stat goes right up with the "teams that run the football more win games". In the NBA, the winner of Game 1 is usually the home team and the reason the team is playing at home is because they are the better squad. If the road team wins, they have the ability to win the two games in their building and own a 3-1 series lead.
As for the rushing thing, of course most teams that are winning late just run the football to kill clock.
Now, this could get like a fight where the bully gets hit in the mouth one good time before just demolishing their opponent. Still, Orlando knows they can get a punch in.
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