The ‘Bench Mob’ came up big and passed the test with flying colors. The 7th seed Orlando Magic have concrete Easter plans.
On the heels of a massive 41-22 fourth quarter blitz and a huge, unexpected contributions from the supporting cast around its two stars, Orlando defeated the Atlanta Hawks in Tuesday’s No. 7-8 Play-In Tournament game with a 120-95 victory.
“It’s a great opportunity to play against the best team in the league, and they’re the champs still until somebody beats ’em,” said Magic coach Jamahl Mosley. “What they present is a lot of challenges, and we have to try to find a way to figure that out.”
As a result, the Magic move on to face a daunting task against the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs. Game 1 of the series is scheduled to take place on Sunday, April 20, with tipoff time and TV designation still to be determined.
One of Cole Anthony’s best games this season helped lead Orlando in the win-and-in contest. He scored a game-high 26 points, 10-17 from the field, and five assists off the bench, recording a plus-minus of plus-32 in 20 minutes.
“They went on their own run, and we weathered the storm. We didn’t let them back in the game from that point on,” Anthony said. “We got stops, we pushed the pace, and we held a really good offensive team to 90 points.”
Fellow reserve guard Anthony Black scored 16 points (6-7 field goals, 3-3 on threes) and went plus-34. Big man Wendell Carter Jr. added 19 points and seven boards in 26 minutes.
Although stars Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner each struggled with a poor shooting night and overall offensive efficiency, they were still effective in the victory. Banchero did a little bit of everything with 17 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, while Wagner added a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds.
“I thought we did a good job on Paolo and Franz (Wagner),” said Hawks coach Quin Snyder, “and they had some other players who really stepped up and made plays.”
With just over six minutes to play in the first quarter, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who has championship experience with the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers, answered Onyeka Okongwu’s three-pointer with one of his own, and the Magic took a 14-13 lead.
Embed from Getty ImagesThat Caldwell-Pope triple was the first made field goal of a 21-4 surge that lasted the rest of the frame. Trae Young put up a goose egg, and the Magic took a 32-17 lead into the second.
Orlando went on to stretch their lead out to 22 points before halftime, but Atlanta refused to go away quietly into the night. The Hawks closed the first half on a 12-4 run, then made it a one possession game, cutting the lead to three with 3:00 to play after the Magic slept walked their way through a sluggish third quarter.
With their will put to the test, Orlando never fully surrendered their advantage.
The Magic carried a six-point lead into the fourth quarter, then opened the flood gates on a 25-12 run to reestablish their strangle hold on the game.
The Magic now advance to face the Boston Celtics in the first round of the NBA playoffs, while the Hawks must await to learn the winner of Wednesday’s No. 9-10 game between the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat.
The Hawks and their eventual opponent will meet Friday in an elimination game, where the winner advances to face the Cleveland Cavaliers in a first-round best of seven playoff series.
