CLEVELAND, Ohio — Donovan Mitchell brought redemption and relief to himself and the Cavaliers.

A year after being bullied and bounced in the first round of the NBA playoffs, Cleveland is moving on.

Mitchell made sure.

“This is why I’m here,” he said. “It’s my job.”

Mitchell scored 39 points, Caris LeVert added 15 and the Cleveland Cavaliers avoided a potentially franchise-shifting loss by rallying for a 106-94 win over the Orlando Magic on Sunday in Game 7 to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The Cavs trailed by 18 in the first half and were in danger of being knocked out in the first round for the second year in a row — a scenario that may have led to firings.

But Mitchell, who scored 50 in a Game 6 loss at Orlando and has been battling a left knee injury for months, put the Cavs on his back. He carried them past an up-and-coming-fast Orlando team whose playoff inexperience showed in the second half.

“I don’t mean this disrespectful, but it doesn’t really mean much,” Mitchell said. “We didn’t come in just to win the first round. We accomplished one goal. Now we have to do it again. That’s the mindset.”

According to the NBA, Cleveland’s comeback is the largest in a Game 7 since the league began tracking play-by-play in 1997-98.

Evan Mobley grabbed 16 rebounds and Darius Garland hit a critical 3-pointer in the fourth for Cleveland, which won its first playoff series without LeBron James since 1993.

The Cavs will now begin the second round on the road against the top-seeded and well-rested Boston Celtics in Game 1 on Tuesday.

In the closing minutes, Cleveland's towel-waving crowd chanted “We want Boston!” — a matchup that didn't look likely an hour earlier.

“I’m pretty sure everybody thinks they’re going to come in and kick our ass,” Mitchell said. “So for us to continue to stay level-headed throughout, and just be who we are, that’s the biggest thing.”

Paolo Banchero scored 38 — just 14 after halftime — and added 16 rebounds to lead the Magic, who grew up in the series but couldn't figure out how to win in Cleveland as both teams held serve on their floors.

As the Cavs chipped away at Orlando’s lead in the second half, Banchero said the Cleveland crowd was so loud that it was difficult for the Magic to call out offensive plays. He couldn’t hear the instructions he and his teammates were getting from coach Jamahl Mosley and his staff.

“It was a hell of an environment and probably the most intense game I’ve ever played in my life,” Banchero said. “Every possession, the toll it takes on your body and your mind is immense.”

Orlando’s Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs shot a combined 3 of 28 from the field.

Asked specifically about Wagner's play in the postgame press conference, Banchero said, "Sometimes the game doesn't always go your way. We're not here without Franz, obviously. He holds himself to a high standard, and he expects a lot out of himself as a player....This doesn't define him. It doesn't define us. He's going to have a great summer. He's going to get better. Just knowing him, he's going to use this to motivate him and take it to another level. I don't think he let anyone down.

"This is our first time in the playoffs, man. I'm just proud of how we played."

The moment turned out to be too much for the Magic, but they pushed the Cavs to the limit.

“After the first game, people were like, I don’t know if they’re ready,” Banchero said. “To come back the way we did, it shows where we’re headed and shows what we’re able to do."

Down by 10 at halftime, Cleveland raised its defensive intensity in the third quarter and outscored Orlando 33-15. The Magic went just 4 of 24 from the field in the period and seemed hesitant while waiting for Banchero to do more.

The Cavs were up 85-77 in the fourth when Garland, who showed frustration earlier in the half before getting a pep talk on the bench from Mitchell, drained a 3-pointer from the corner to put Cleveland up 11.

After his shot dropped and Orlando called a timeout, a relieved Garland hugged Mitchell, who was acquired in a trade two years ago from Utah to hopefully get Cleveland closer to another championship.

The Cavs took another step with him.

“We’ve been at it for two years and we’ve been trying to get past this first round, so he knew that we all wanted it at the same time and together,” Garland said. “He knew that I was a little bit down in the first half, but he kept trusting me.

“It’s cool just having him in my ear a little bit, just telling me to keep going, stay confident in myself. I really needed it.”

Cleveland was again without starting center Jarrett Allen, who missed the final three games in the series with a painful rib injury sustained from an errant Magic elbow.

Before he got hurt, Allen was Cleveland’s most consistent player against the Magic, getting 20 rebounds in Game 2 while giving the Cavs a defensive presence underneath to at least deter Orlando drives.

But Orlando didn’t have enough — or Mitchell.

Whenever the Cavs needed a big play, the All-Star guard made one. Whenever a teammate needed support, he was there. And in scoring 89 points in the final two games, Mitchell may have finally silenced critics who pointed to his inability to close.

This time, he finished the job.

The Magic, who hanged their hat on their defense all season, could do nothing to stop Mitchell.

“That’s what special players do when it matters most,” Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “He was special when he needed to be.”

Led by the 21-year-old Banchero, the Magic, who only won 22 games two years ago before they selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, were 24 minutes from winning a series they trailed 2-0.

It was painful way for Orlando’s breakout season to end. The Magic won just 34 games a year ago, and there weren’t many who predicted they would be a No. 5 seed heading into the playoffs.

Although the end was tough to swallow, one of the league’s youngest teams gained invaluable experience.

“I walked in the locker room and said this sucks,” Mosley said. “To be up 18 and have a chance to close it out, it doesn’t feel good. But sometimes painful losses are blessings in disguise. I know it sucks right now, but I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

Mosley was adamant that his team didn’t lose its cool.

“I don’t think there was a loss of composure,” he said. “They (Cavs) went on a heck of a run, and we got stagnant a little bit. There was no whining, no moaning, no yelling. Our guys were focused on how to get the next shot.”

“We got good looks, and they just didn’t fall,” Suggs said. “I think we could live with that because we gave all we could. I’m sorry we couldn’t pull this one out.”

This was all new for Orlando, which will likely have its entire core back next season and is expected to be active in free agency.

Next year will bring higher expectations, but the Magic should be ready for them.

“We won’t be lacking this experience next season in the playoffs,” forward/center Jonathan Isaac said. “We’ll have this on our resume and have a chip on our shoulder to get back.”

Banchero showed why he’s one of the league’s rising stars, a player just beginning to scratch his potential. He averaged 27 points and 8.6 rebounds in his first playoff series, and in Game 7, he tied a team record with 15 free throws.

“Special,” Mosley said of his young star. “He wanted every ounce of what they were throwing at him. There is a reason why he’s an All-Star and is going to be All-NBA. He’s going to show up in big games.”