By the margin of one rimmed-out shot, the Osceola Magic move on in the NBA G League playoffs after a thrilling 119-117 win Wednesday over the Long Island Nets.
Much like the NCAA Tournament -- did you watch on Sunday? -- the home team will "survive and advance" and play the Motor City Cruise, who beat Toronto 905 on Tuesday, in Friday's conference semifinal.
Osceola held a 118-112 lead, and Javonte Smart, who scored 21 points off the bench, was at the free throw line with 12 seconds left. He made just one shot, and then fouled Tyson Etienne in shooting a three. He made the first two, missed the third on purpose. Malachi Smith swooped in for the rebound, sprinted to the corner and drained a three-pointer to make it 119-117. The Magic then inbounded to Lester Quinones, who was fouled with 4.5 seconds left.
But he missed both free throws, and with a chance to score Long Island, the East's No. 8 seed, an improbable victory, Smith launched a three-pointer at the buzzer that, unlike Connecticut's improbable win over Duke, rimmed .out, sending the Nets home and Osceola on to the next round.
"After the first quarter I thought we were executing our gameplan," said a seemingly at-ease Coach Dylan Murphy after the game. "It gave us the cushion to absorb what happened at the end. That wasn't great execution, but we had the right five in there who support each other, like Javonte."
Smart did hit a clutch three with a minute left to push the lead to six with a minute left.
Colin Castleton, who got signed to an NBA 10-day contract just before the G League playoffs, led the Magic with another double-double (25 points, 11 rebounds) on 10-of-15 shooting.
"I knew I'd get my opportunities, and then it was just doing the little things to win," said Castleton, who at 6-10 does very few things little. "We fought all the way until the end, and we have guys who all have heart and that's why I think we won."
There's a story to the beginning of the game, but Wednesday's crazy finish rendered it moot. The Nets were the hotter shooting team in the first quarter, going 15-for-25 (60%) as they built a 38-32 lead after the first 12 minutes. But the Magic, led by Castleton, who nearly had a double-double at the half (17 points, nine rebounds) and Smart (10 points), the game swung.
While Long Island shot just 23% (6-for-26) in the second quarter, Osceola was 14-for-22 (63%) as it went back into the lead, which Quinones pushed to five, 65-60, with a falling-away three-pointer that swished through as the halftime horn sounded.
