Buoyed by their top-two defense, the Orlando Magic used their size and length to pummel the Atlanta Hawks to the verge of Play-In elimination. The Magic defeated the Hawks at home, 120-95, in the 7th/8th seed match-up of the Eastern Conference’s Play-In Tournament.
Orlando clinched the East’s 7th-seed, setting up a first round match-up against the reigning-champion, Boston Celtics. Atlanta will get one more chance to crack the playoff field, as they will host the 9-seeded, Miami Heat, at home Friday night, following Miami’s victory over the Chicago Bulls Wednesday night. The winner of that game will be rewarded with the first round series against the top-seeded, Cleveland Cavaliers.
Besides the first half of the first quarter, Orlando gained the lead over the Hawks and never looked back. Orlando’s size stifled the Hawks into poor shots, blocks and a discombobulated look on offense. Both teams shot horribly from the three-point line, but Orlando was a little bit better at 11-of-39 (28.2%) compared to Atlanta’s paltry, 4-of-21 (19%). Overall, the Magic shot 48.4% from the field overall versus Atlanta’s 38.1%.
The Magic capitalized on a big performance form Cole Anthony off the bench, who finished with 26 points in 20 minutes, and ended the game with a whopping +32 in +/- rating. Paulo Banchero finished with a modest stat-line of 17 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, while his running-mate, Franz Wagner, added in 13 points and 13 rebounds.
The Hawks did not have much going on the offensive end. Trae Young led the way with 28 points but shot 8-of-21 from the field overall, and 1-of-5 from three. He was ejected in the waning moments of the fourth quarter, with the far out of reach, for tossing the ball to the official, in a way which was described by the referee crew after the game as “a mockery of the game.”
Zacchaire Risacher got his first taste of “playoff” basketball and finished with an inauspicious debut, with 7 points on 2-of-10 shooting. Dyson Daniels also finished with 7 points, no steals, which is a surprise for him, and 12 rebounds. The lone bright spot, might have been Georges Niang, off the bench, who finished with 15 points.
Atlanta will host Miami Friday night at State Farm Arena, with tip-off set for 7:00 PM eastern. TNT will nationally televise this game.
