The Orlando Magic held on to beat the Atlanta Hawks, 117-110, in overtime on Sunday night at the Kia Center. The last time these two teams battled, Dejounte Murray hit a game-winning corner three in Mexico City to seal the victory. Tonight, it was Paolo Banchero who took over in overtime to send Magic fans home happy.
Orlando started this game on a 16-3 run. The Hawks missed their first five shots, but the Magic caught fire from beyond the arc. Caleb Houstan hit two early three’s as Orlando hit 5-7 shots from downtown. Atlanta countered knocking down its next six shots to get back in the game. Shortly after, Garrison Mathews rolled his ankle landing on Markelle Fultz’s foot, and he could not return to this game. The Magic took a 32-28 lead with Murray and Banchero leading their respective squads with 11 points each.
The Hawks took their first lead at 37-34 on a 9-2 run courtesy of a Bogdan Bogdanović three. Onyeka Okongwu, who dominated this game defensively, threw down an emphatic poser over Chuma Okeke after Clint Capela picked Banchero’s pocket. Atlanta owned the second quarter on both ends, holding the Magic to just 19 points while scoring 32. The Hawks went into halftime on a 13-2 run with a 60-51 lead. Atlanta scored a whopping 38 points in the paint compared to Orlando’s 16.
Coming out of the locker room, the Hawks’ recent third-quarter struggles haunted them again. The Magic went on a 14-5 run fueled by two more Houstan three’s and Jalen Suggs’ hustle defensive plays. Suggs guarded Trae Young all night, and that matchup was exciting to watch throughout the contest. Murray got to the rim a lot in the first-half, but it changed in the second for him and the Hawks. Orlando held the Hawks scoreless for over three minutes before Murray cut the Magic’s lead to 76-72. Atlanta shot just 7-22 from the field, 1-8 from downtown and committed five turnovers in the third frame, as Orlando took an 84-78 advantage into the fourth.
The Hawks held the Magic scoreless for the first four minutes of the quarter, cutting the lead to 97-93. However, after a successful challenge on Goga Bitadze’s contest at the rim, Orlando put together a 7-0 run to extend the lead to 100-93. Both teams shot poorly from the charity stripe, but Atlanta missed a lot of free throws down the stretch to put this game away. Late in the fourth quarter, the Hawks shot a shocking 14-24 from the free-throw line. With the Magic up 105-101 with 56 seconds left, Atlanta forced a Cole Anthony turnover, which resulted in a Young layup. On the next possession, Jalen Johnson found Saddiq Bey for a dunk to tie the game at 105. Houstan missed a game-winning three on the final shot after a great double-team from Young on Banchero. Murray rotated to make the shot as difficult as possible, adding another five minutes to the clock.
In overtime, it was the Banchero show. He scored the first five points for the Magic while the Hawks struggled. Orlando led 113-110 and won a challenge, converting a charge on Banchero to a blocking foul on Capela. After Banchero hit a mid-range shot to extend the lead, Murray and Capela had a miscommunication on a handoff leading to a crucial turnover. After Murray missed a layup coming back, the Magic put away the contest at the charity stripe.
Young quietly totaled 31 points and nine assists on a great defender in Suggs, while Murray had a strong first-half, but struggled in the second. He finished with 24 points and six rebounds, and Bogdanović put up 18 points on 4-9 attempts from beyond the arc. Johnson scored 12 points and grabbed 11 boards, but he was in foul trouble for most of the night. Okongwu blocked five shots, locking down the paint, and Bey scored 16 on 5-10 shooting.
Banchero shot 13-29 from the field for 35 points, 10 rebounds and three steals. Houstan scored a career-high 25 points, shooting 7-14 from downtown. Suggs fouled out in the fourth quarter with 16 points, and Moritz Wagner added 15 points and seven rebounds off the bench.
The Magic executed well in the first, third and overtime periods, while the Hawks did the same in the second and fourth. Atlanta needs to find a path to consistency across all four quarters to right the ship and keep their playoff hopes alive. Their next chance to bounce back comes against the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night at State Farm Arena.
