Paolo Banchero scored 25 points to lead five players in double figures for the host Orlando Magic, who advanced to the Eastern Conference playoffs by routing the Charlotte Hornets 121-90 in a play-in game on Friday night.
The Magic, who finished eighth during the regular season, earned the eighth seed and will face the top-seeded Pistons in a best-of-seven first-round series beginning Sunday night in Detroit.
This is the third straight trip to the playoffs for the Magic — the longest streak for the franchise since a team-record six straight appearances from 2007-12.
LaMelo Ball scored 23 points for the Hornets, who finished ninth in the East. Charlotte earned a dramatic 127-126 overtime win over the Miami Heat in the first play-in game Tuesday but missed the postseason for the 10th straight season — the NBA’s longest active drought.
Franz Wagner had 18 points while Wendell Carter Jr. finished with 16 for the Magic, who also received 13 from Desmond Bane and 12 from Jalen Suggs. Orlando shot 50% (42 of 84) from the field and 29.6% (8-for-27) from 3-point range.
“When you play with a sense of desperation and urgency, when you know you’re either going home or you’re extending your season, that’s what it looks like,” Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley said.
Miles Bridges scored 15 points, Brandon Miller had 14 and Kon Knueppel added 11 in Charlotte’s most lopsided loss of the season. The visitors shot just 33.7% (28 of 83) from the field and 26.7% (12 of 45) from beyond the arc.
Miller’s 3-pointer gave the Hornets their only lead at 5-4 with 9:58 left in the first quarter. The Magic scored the next 10 points, after which Bridges and Miller combined for five consecutive points.
The Magic responded by taking control with a 13-0 run as Carter and Banchero combined for 11 points to take a 27-10 lead. Goga Bitadze’s layup gave Orlando its first 20-point lead at 36-16 with 54 seconds left.
The Magic led by as many as 35 in the second before entering the half with a 68-37 advantage. Orlando led 102-71 at the end of the third and by as many as 33 in the fourth.
“I hope that this fuels us this offseason, because we did a ton of really good things and gave ourselves an opportunity — you’re one step away from being in the playoffs, so I don’t want to discredit that,” Hornets head coach Charles Lee said. “But this has got to, like, hurt a little bit.”
–Field Level Media
