Cole Anthony scored 13 of his 26 points in a fourth-quarter surge Tuesday night, allowing the Orlando Magic to claim a playoff berth via a 120-95 romp over the visiting Atlanta Hawks in an Eastern Conference play-in game.
Wendell Carter Jr. chipped in with 19 points, Paolo Banchero put up 17 and Anthony Black added to a dominant bench effort with 16 for the Magic, who move on as the seventh seed to a first-round playoff series against the second-seeded Celtics. The best-of-seven set tips off Sunday in Boston.
“That was a big-time team effort. By committee,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “These guys all stepped up, did their roles, followed the game plan.”
Trae Young went for a game-high 28 points before getting ejected for the eighth-place Hawks, who now return home to face either the Chicago Bulls or Miami Heat for the final Eastern playoff spot on Friday night. The winner of that game will draw the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs.
After watching the Magic score 18 of the first quarter’s final 20 points to go up 32-17, the Hawks, who finished one game behind Orlando in the regular season, clawed back into the game. Atlanta got within three late in the third period and then 79-73 after a George Niang buzzer-beating 3-pointer at quarter’s end.
Carter’s jumper 16 seconds into the final period got the Magic going, after which Anthony and Black took charge. They combined for five 3-pointers — three by Anthony — in a pull-away that was so frustrating to the Hawks, Young couldn’t finish the game after venting on the referees. He drew two technical fouls with 4:47 to go.
Mosley said of his team’s response to the Hawks’ third-period surge, “We’ve been there before. We’ve been in these situations, close games at home. Our ability to get the stops and get on runs at the right time was very big for us. You saw the group come together on the floor.”
Anthony shot 4-for-9 from 3-point range, helping the Magic to a 33-12 advantage from beyond the arc.
Franz Wagner added 13 points and 13 rebounds for Orlando, while Banchero complemented his 17 points with nine rebounds and a game-high-tying seven assists.
The Magic bench outscored its Atlanta counterparts 57-30.
Hawks coach Quin Snyder said, “For us to win, we’ve got to shoot more than 19 threes. We were passing them up.”
Niang finished with 15 points, Mouhamed Gueye 12 and Onyeka Okongwu 11 for Atlanta. Dyson Daniels had team highs in rebounds with 12 and assists with seven to go with seven points.
“The biggest thing right now is: You can take things from this to the next game,” Snyder said. “There’s a Game 1 and a Game 2. You’ve got to transition to the next game, regardless of who (the opponent) is. The focus will be on the game Friday. We can be more aggressive shooting the ball. Let it rip.”
–Field Level Media
