The No. 5 Magic are making a return to the NBA playoffs for the first time in four years and will be facing the No. 4 Cavaliers in their first-round series starting on Saturday in Cleveland at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse with tip-off at 1 p.m. on ESPN. This will be the first time Orlando plays on ESPN since the 2020 postseason in the Disney bubble due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Magic had a regular-season record of 47-35 and will be playing against the 48-34 Cavaliers on national television at least twice during this series.
Orlando previously appeared on TNT in mid-February when hosting the Thunder and retiring Shaquille O’Neal’s jersey No. 32. The Magic lacked nationally televised games on ESPN, ABC, or TNT in the last three seasons. The first-round playoff games will also be locally aired on Bally Sports Florida, with the exception of those broadcast on ABC. Fans can listen to the games on the Orlando Magic Radio Network with the flagship station being FM 96.9 The Game.
The Magic’s full schedule for the first round, a best-of-seven series against the Cavaliers, is as follows: Game 1 on Saturday in Cleveland at 1 p.m. ET, Game 2 on Monday in Cleveland at 7 p.m., Game 3 on April 25 in Orlando at 7 p.m., Game 4 on April 27 in Orlando at 1 p.m., Game 5 on April 30 in Cleveland (time TBD), Game 6 on May 3 in Orlando (time TBD), and Game 7 on May 5 in Cleveland (time TBD) if necessary. This marks the 17th playoff appearance in franchise history for the Magic, with playoff tickets currently on sale online at OrlandoMagic.com and at the Kia Center box office located on Church Street. Contact Jason Beede at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com for more information.