Orlando Blows Out Atlanta, Sets Playoff Duel With Boston

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The Orlando Magic became the first Play-In team to advance to the NBA Playoffs after tearing the wings of the Atlanta Hawks, 120-95, during the first scheduled Play-In eliminator on April 16, 2025.

With the runaway victory, Orlando just sealed the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference and formalized its first-round playoff matchup against the defending NBA champions, the Boston Celtics.

The Magic immediately built a commanding 15-point lead after the first 12 minutes of action, courtesy of Paolo Banchero and Wendell Carter Jr.’s aggressiveness in getting to the paint.

From the get-go, it was clear that Orlando’s game plan was to attack the undersized Atlanta squad, which is missing its main frontcourt anchor, Clint Capela, due to an injured hand.

The duo of Banchero and Carter Jr. dominated the shaded lane, drawing fouls off their bully ball moves, which put the Hawks in early foul trouble situation.

Just when the Magic thought they could stick to what was clicking, Trae Young single-handedly put Atlanta back into the ball game after erupting midway through the second quarter until the third.

Young didn’t let his team surrender in the early phase and pulled off a foul-baiting exhibition to make up for his dismal shooting from the three-point line after only cashing in a single attempt out of his five tries.

However, just when the Hawks started to gain their footing entering the final canto, Orlando waxed hot in the most crucial stretch of the game to outscore Atlanta in the fourth, 41-22.

Cole Anthony was unconscious during that phase and torched the Hawks with his red-hot shooting, backstopped by Anthony Black who injected the much-needed energy with his two-way efficiency.

Unfortunately for Atlanta, Orlando’s massive offensive avalanche proved to be too much and they failed to trim their deficit to a single-digit margin in the final six minutes of regulation.

It was a balanced scoring effort for the Magic as five of their players all hit the double-digit scoring mark led by Anthony who exploded for 26 points in just 20 minutes of playing time.

Anthony shot an efficient 10/17 from the field including four made three-pointers alongside six assists and three rebounds. Also supplying the offensive punch for the Magic was Carter Jr. who added 19 markers, seven boards, two dimes, and two blocks.

Completing the double-digit scorers for the Orlando side were Banchero, Black, and Franz Wagner who delivered 17, 16, and 13 points, respectively.

On the other hand, Atlanta got a 28-point performance from Young but needed more help from the starters. Georges Niang, the team’s sixth man, was the team’s second-best scorer with 15 markers. Rookie of the Year candidate Zaccharie Riscaher only produced seven points while defensive lynchpin Dyson Daniels, who played 35 minutes, only had seven.

Atlanta will still have a chance to grab the eighth seed in the East and will be awaiting the winner between the Miami Heat and the Chicago Bulls for the next Play-In series eliminator.