The Orlando Magic face the visiting Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday in what could be a play-in tournament preview.
Seventh-place Orlando (38-40) has won two straight heading into the matchup against eight-place Atlanta (37-41), which has lost five of its last seven.
The Magic have had four days off since beating the Washington Wizards 109-97 on Thursday.
Paolo Banchero had 33 points, a career-high 18 rebounds and eight assists in the win. He said his rebounding was key to his stellar outing.
“Just getting on the boards early,” Banchero said. “I think that always helps my game to get on the glass and getting the ball in my hands. It makes you feel involved without having to do too much on the offensive end. Just getting on the glass and trying to get my teammates involved.”
The Magic have won six of their last eight games to move a game ahead of the Hawks, but the teams meet twice in the final week.
Orlando forward Franz Wagner had 27 points in the win over Washington and has scored at least 20 points in 10 straight games. Orlando turned in another strong defensive performance, holding the Wizards to 18 points in the second quarter.
“It’s us getting closer to the end of the season, understanding that we need to be hitting our peak now,” said Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. “I know we had a lull in terms of our defensive rating, but we’re one of the top defenses in the league. And we’re going to continue to get better on that end of the court.”
Orlando and Atlanta have split their first two meetings this season with both teams winning on the road. Atlanta won 112-106 on Feb. 10 before the Magic evened the series with a 114-108 victory on Feb. 20.
Atlanta never trailed after 2-0 in a 147-134 win over the Utah Jazz on Sunday. Onyeka Okongwu had 27 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Hawks, while Trae Young added 23 points and 15 assists.
Okongwu recorded his 26th double-double of the season and third in his last five games.
“I mean, ‘O’ is just dominating,” said Hawks forward Mouhamed Gueye. “You’re gonna see him and you’re going think like, ‘O, he undersized, all that.’ But he’s out there, dominating, getting all the rebounds and dunks. He’s a big piece of our team.”
Atlanta also received a spark from forward Vit Krejci, who shot 6-for-6 from the field with five 3-pointers for 17 points in 24 minutes.
“It feels like you’re at the right spot, always at the right time,” Krejci said. “It’s weird. When you make those shots, you feel like you’re everywhere, and then when you’re not making them, you feel like nowhere. So, it’s very funny to think about it like that. But yeah, it’s a hell of a feeling. So yeah, but I’m happy that we got the win.”
Caris LeVert added 21 points off the bench for Atlanta, which shot 56.8 percent from the field and 53.7 percent (22 of 41) from 3-point range.
The Hawks will need an improved defensive effort against Orlando after allowing Utah to shoot 51.7 percent from the field on Sunday, including 42.6 percent (20 of 47) from beyond the arc.
–Field Level Media
