Through all the weirdness and stoppages that Sunday’s 128-102 home win over the Detroit Pistons brought, the Orlando Magic’s hopes of qualifying for the play-in tournament are still intact.
Barely.
The Magic’s victory, their sixth win in eight games, brought them to 34-44 on the season — a 12-win improvement over last year’s record with four more regular-season games to play.
“Very pleased,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “They did a really good job of taking on that challenge. We challenged them before the game saying how we have to start games. Our guys did a great job of that defensively as well as offensively sharing the basketball.”
But results from other Sunday matchups made every Magic game for the rest of the regular season must-wins to keep their play-in hopes alive.
First: the Toronto Raptors (39-39) beat the Charlotte Hornets 128-108 to ensure the Magic couldn’t finish the season higher than No. 9 in the Eastern Conference standings.
Second: the Chicago Bulls (38-40) came back from a 15-point halftime deficit to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 128-107.
The Magic remain four games behind Chicago for the No. 10 seed in the East, but Orlando’s “magic” number is now one, meaning the Magic would be eliminated from play-in contention with the Bulls’ next win or the Magic’s next loss.
They made sure that didn’t happen Sunday, pulling off a dominant victory in front of an announced attendance of 19,431 people — the fourth-largest in team history.
The Magic jumped out to a 20-8 lead early in the first quarter and didn’t let up at any point, taking a 34-29 lead going into the second.
Even during a second quarter that featured multiple stoppages because of shot- or game-clock malfunctions, the Magic maintained focus. The first half lasted 1 hour and 16 minutes. Most first halves are less than an hour long.
Orlando outscored Detroit 29-15 and 28-24 in second and third quarters, respectively, making the final quarter essentially extended garbage time after taking a 91-68 lead going into the fourth.
The Magic’s offense was once again well-balanced, with Jalen Suggs leading the way with 18 points (5-of-9 shooting, 4 of 6 on 3s).
Eight players scored in double figures, with the Magic having 30 assists on 43 field goals and tying a season-high 17 3-pointers.
“We have a lot of weapons on this team,” guard Cole Anthony said. “When we get out there and just play very selflessly, it’s fun. We defended. Happy we got the dub, on to the next one.”
Franz Wagner (16 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds), Paolo Banchero (14 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists), Wendell Carter Jr. (14 points and 9 rebounds in 23 minutes) and Markelle Fultz (11 points and 6 assists in 24 minutes) were among the starters who scored at least 10 points.
Anthony (17 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists), Goga Bitadze (13 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists in 18 minutes before fouling out) and Moe Wagner (11 points in 18 minutes) scored in double figures off the bench.
Chuma Okeke (3 points) was in the rotation and played 11 minutes, his most playing time since Feb. 14. Two-way wing Jay Scrubb (2 points, 1 rebound) made his Magic debut and Michael Carter-Williams made his season debut late in the fourth.
The Pistons (16-62) were led by Killian Hayes’ 20 points and 7 assists.
The Magic will play back-to-back games against the Cleveland Cavaliers Tuesday and Thursday at Amway Center to close out their regular-season home schedule.
This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Khobi Price at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter at @khobi_price.
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