Anthony, Magic claim 7th seed with 120-95 win over Hawks
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) Cole Anthony came off the bench with 26 points and six helps to lead the Orlando Magic to a 120-95 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night in the very first game of the Play-In Tournament.Paolo Banchero had
17 points, 9 rebounds and 7 helps for the Magic, and Wendell Carter Jr. included 19 points and seven rebounds. Anthony Black scored 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting off the bench in the Magic’s very first appearance in a play-in game.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 divided its four games versus the protecting NBA champs this season, however the Celtics rested their leading six players in a loss at Orlando last week.”It’s a great chance to bet the best
team in the league, and they’re the champs still until somebody beats ’em, “stated Magic coach Jamahl Mosley.”What they provide is a lot of obstacles, and we have to search for a method to figure that out.” Trae Young led the Hawks with 28 points and 6 helps before getting two technical fouls and an automatic ejection with 4:47 left in the game.”I believed we did a great task on Paolo and Franz( Wagner ),”said Hawks coach Quin Snyder,” and they had some other players who truly stepped up and made plays.”The Hawks, who have reached the playoffs through the play-in path in two of the last 3 seasons, will play at home Friday night for the eighth area versus the winner of Wednesday night’s game at Chicago in between the Bulls and the Miami Heat.Banchero and Black produced the majority of the offense and the Hawks scored just 2 points in the final 6 minutes of the first quarter, and the Magic led by as lots of as 22 late in the very 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 stated.
“We got stops, we pushed the speed and we held a really excellent offensive group to 90 points.”Anthony, who averaged 9.4 points in an injury-plagued season, made 10-of-17 shots consisting of 4-of-9 3-pointers.