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The past five days, coach Jamahl Mosley and the Magic stressed the importance of Tuesday’s matchup with the Hawks.
And, with postseason positioning on the line, Orlando played with a sense of urgency at Kia Center in their first of potentially three games with Atlanta during the next week.
Behind a combined 55 points from Paolo Banchero (33) and Franz Wagner (22), the Magic secured a 119-112 victory when they converted 18 turnovers into 20 points.
The result is significant because it puts No. 7 Orlando (39-40) in the driver’s seat for homecourt advantage in the NBA Play-In Tournament with only three games remaining in the regular season.
The Magic already entered a full game ahead of No. 8 Atlanta (37-42) in the East standings. No. 7 hosts No. 8 Tuesday. The winner earns the seventh seed in the playoffs. The loser has to play the winner of Nos. 9 vs. 10 to determine the East’s eighth seed.
With the win, Orlando takes a 2-1 lead in the four-game series with Atlanta, which hosts the Magic in the regular-season finale on Sunday at State Farm Arena.
The victory also is the Magic’s third straight and marks the Hawks’ fourth loss in their past five games.
Orlando has a quick turnaround when it host the Celtics in the last home game of the regular season Wednesday.
Banchero notched 20-plus points for the 20th straight game before halftime. He scored 8 of Orlando’s first 12 points when he aggressively attacked the basket.
Even as Atlanta sent double teams his direction, Banchero eventually cracked 30 for the 18th time. He added 10 rebounds and shot 7 of 10 from the free throw line.
Wagner, who made two 3s, and Wendell Carter Jr., who grabbed 7 rebounds, each had 10 points in the first half.
Wagner added 6 assists and 6 rebounds in 40 minutes when he helped initiate Orlando’s offense.
Banchero and Wagner have now each scored 20-plus points in 11 straight games, extending their longest streak by a duo in franchise history.
Orlando shot 50% (7 of 14) from 3-point range in the first half and finished at 41.2% which is well above its league-low average of 31.4%. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s third triple put the Magic ahead by 12 late in the third quarter, the team’s largest lead at that point.
Caldwell-Pope finished with 15 points and Carter 17 with 9 rebounds.
Although Orlando did a good job of forcing turnovers, it turned the ball over plenty. Atlanta, however, only scored 3 points off 14 takeaways.
The Magic left points on the board. Despite shooting 9 more free throws, they were only plus-3. They finished 21 of 31 (67.7%).
Atlanta was led by Onyeka Okongwu (30 points, 14 rebounds) and All-NBA guard Trae Young (28 points).
Tristan da Silva was a healthy scratch for the third straight contest as the No. 18 pick has seemingly fallen out of Orlando’s two-deep rotation.
No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher picked two fouls in the opening frame and his third early in the second as he was held scoreless in the first half.
In his second visit to Orlando, he totaled 8 points, an assist and 1 rebound in 16 minutes.
Jason Beede can be reached at [email protected]
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And, with postseason positioning on the line, Orlando played with a sense of urgency at Kia Center in their first of potentially three games with Atlanta during the next week.
Behind a combined 55 points from Paolo Banchero (33) and Franz Wagner (22), the Magic secured a 119-112 victory when they converted 18 turnovers into 20 points.
The result is significant because it puts No. 7 Orlando (39-40) in the driver’s seat for homecourt advantage in the NBA Play-In Tournament with only three games remaining in the regular season.
The Magic already entered a full game ahead of No. 8 Atlanta (37-42) in the East standings. No. 7 hosts No. 8 Tuesday. The winner earns the seventh seed in the playoffs. The loser has to play the winner of Nos. 9 vs. 10 to determine the East’s eighth seed.
With the win, Orlando takes a 2-1 lead in the four-game series with Atlanta, which hosts the Magic in the regular-season finale on Sunday at State Farm Arena.
The victory also is the Magic’s third straight and marks the Hawks’ fourth loss in their past five games.
Orlando has a quick turnaround when it host the Celtics in the last home game of the regular season Wednesday.
What worked
Banchero notched 20-plus points for the 20th straight game before halftime. He scored 8 of Orlando’s first 12 points when he aggressively attacked the basket.
Even as Atlanta sent double teams his direction, Banchero eventually cracked 30 for the 18th time. He added 10 rebounds and shot 7 of 10 from the free throw line.
Wagner, who made two 3s, and Wendell Carter Jr., who grabbed 7 rebounds, each had 10 points in the first half.
Wagner added 6 assists and 6 rebounds in 40 minutes when he helped initiate Orlando’s offense.
Banchero and Wagner have now each scored 20-plus points in 11 straight games, extending their longest streak by a duo in franchise history.
Orlando shot 50% (7 of 14) from 3-point range in the first half and finished at 41.2% which is well above its league-low average of 31.4%. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s third triple put the Magic ahead by 12 late in the third quarter, the team’s largest lead at that point.
Caldwell-Pope finished with 15 points and Carter 17 with 9 rebounds.
What didn’t
Although Orlando did a good job of forcing turnovers, it turned the ball over plenty. Atlanta, however, only scored 3 points off 14 takeaways.
The Magic left points on the board. Despite shooting 9 more free throws, they were only plus-3. They finished 21 of 31 (67.7%).
Atlanta was led by Onyeka Okongwu (30 points, 14 rebounds) and All-NBA guard Trae Young (28 points).
Rookie watch
Tristan da Silva was a healthy scratch for the third straight contest as the No. 18 pick has seemingly fallen out of Orlando’s two-deep rotation.
No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher picked two fouls in the opening frame and his third early in the second as he was held scoreless in the first half.
In his second visit to Orlando, he totaled 8 points, an assist and 1 rebound in 16 minutes.
Jason Beede can be reached at [email protected]
Continue reading...
