Anthony, Magic claim 7th seed with 120-95 win over Hawks in Play-In
Tournament
[April 16, 2025]
By DICK SCANLON
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Cole Anthony came off the bench
with 26 points and six assists to lead the Orlando Magic to a 120-95 win
over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night in the first game of the Play-In
Tournament.
Paolo Banchero had 17 points, nine rebounds and seven
assists for the Magic, and Wendell Carter Jr. added 19 points and seven
rebounds. Anthony Black scored 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting off the
bench in the Magic’s first appearance in a play-in game. |
Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) and Atlanta Hawks forward
Dominick Barlow (0) go after a rebound during the first half of an NBA
play-in tournament basketball game, Tuesday, April 15, 2025, in Orlando,
Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux) |
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Earning the Eastern Conference’s seventh seed
after a 41-41 regular season, the Magic will start their
first-round playoff series at Boston on Sunday. Orlando split
its four games against the defending NBA champs this season, but
the Celtics rested their top six players in a loss at Orlando
last week.
“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.”
Trae Young led the Hawks with 28 points and six assists before
getting two technical fouls and an automatic ejection with 4:47
left in the game.
“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.”
The Hawks, who have reached the playoffs through the play-in
route in two of the last three seasons, will play at home Friday
night for the eighth spot against the winner of Wednesday
night’s game at Chicago between the Bulls and the Miami Heat.
Banchero and Black produced most of the offense and the Hawks
scored just two points in the final 6 minutes of the first
quarter, and the Magic led by as many as 22 late in the first
half.
The Hawks cut the gap to three and had a chance to tied the game
when they turned it over with 2:36 left in the third quarter.
“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.”
Anthony, who averaged 9.4 points in an injury-plagued season,
made 10-of-17 shots including 4 -of-9 3-pointers.
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