Magic to host East semifinal on Thursday
On a night when the Osceola Magic hit just one three-pointer in the fourth quarter and the Birmingham Squadron favored the long ball all night, it was the home team who hit enough of its own shots to close the regular season with a 124-119 victory Saturday at the Silver Spurs Arena.
The win clinched Osceola (22-12) the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and a first-round bye in next week’s NBA G League playoffs. The Indiana Mad Ants (20-14) will host the Greensboro Swarm (20-14) on Tuesday, and the Magic will host the winner in Thursday's East semifinals at 8 p.m. The winner will play for the Eastern Conference final Sunday at 7 p.m.; Osceola would host that with a victory Thursday.
Orlando led 68-57 at the half and Birmingham (12-22) never were able to grab the lead despite going on a couple of second-half runs.
“It was a real dogfight, like (Friday) was,” Coach Dylan Murphy said. “And at this point you just have to win – win pretty, win ugly, defend, score, do it all. We’ve got 11 guys who all deserve to play. “
“It’s a testament to our team’s character, all year,” said Alex Morales, who started at guard and scored 18 points, one of seven Magic players in double figures. “However the game went, we stayed together, it’s what this team does.”
Center Colin Castleton returned to the lineup after a stint with the Toronto Raptors and scored 20 points, pulled down 13 rebounds and dished seven assists.
“He played big minutes with Toronto, so we felt good about his conditioning,” Murphy said. “He came in ready to go like a true professional.”
Mac McClung led the scoring with 26 points, but had big help with Castleton, Morales, Ethan Thompson (17), Myron Gardner (13) Javonte Smart (10) and Jarrett Culver (12).
The Magic hit six of their first seven shots of the game, and despite Birmingham (who took 52 three-pointers among their 81 shots) getting hot themselves, Osceola took a 32-24 first quarter lead.
A 68-57 halftime lead turned into a 79-78 squeaker after Jalen Crutcher’s three-pointer. Then it turned into a comfortable 95-81 Magic lead after a 16-3 run, then a scant six-point 97-91 lead heading into the fourth quarter after the Squadron closed with a 10-2 run of its own.
Ethan Thompson’s three-pointer – the Magic’s first of the fourth quarter with 2:12 left – put the Magic up 120-110, and McClung and company coolly put the game away at the end.
Check back at AroundOsceola.com for updates on the playoff bracket.
FRIDAY: Osceola Magic's OT win clinches home playoff game
McClung scores 46; win keeps shot at first-round bye alive
With a level of excitement that was not necessary, the Osceola Magic claimed a 124-122 overtime win Friday over the Birmingham Squadron at Silver Spurs Arena.
Mac McClung, who romped to a franchise-high 46 points, scored five of the Magic's seven overtime points, including the game-winning free throw.
Coach Dylan Murphy said he like the team "Didn’t play our best basketball."
"Slow start and low energy. We had a good third quarter, we finally defended in the third quarter," he said. "In the fourth, we were unable able to get stops. Mac [McClung] obviously had a good night and carried us."
With Saturday's regular-season finale left, the Magic (21-12) have clinched a home game in the NBA G League playoffs that start Tuesday -- or Thursday, if Osceola wins Saturday to clinch a first-round bye.
"We said at this time of year, especially one-and-done, it doesn’t matter if you’re playing well or playing poorly. When it comes down to it, you have to find a way to win. That’s what we did," Murphy said. "It wasn’t a good game for us, we’re going to have to clean up a lot on film, but we found a way. That’s what this time of year is about.”
Osceola led the Squadron (12-21) by 18, 102-84, entering the fourth quarter and looked to have an all-important victory for favorable playoff seeding in hand. But Birmingham, eliminated from the playoffs a week ago, played with pride and methodically trimmed the lead, tying it with 32 seconds left when Jalen Crutcher (26 points) hit a three-pointer.
McClung's potential game-winning layup at the buzzer rolled off the rim, and the game went to the G League's target-score "Elam ending". He scored the first four points in OT from the free-throw line and on a step-back jump shot to make it 121-119 and one shot from a win. Trhae Mitchell answered with a three-pointer to give Birmingham its only lead of the night 122-121.
Birmingham fouled Jalen Slawson to prevent a three-point shot, and he sank his free throws to make it 123-122. With the game on the line, Slawson rebounded Crutcher's lay-up miss and got the ball to McClung, who was fouled driving the lane. His free throw sealed the deal.
Slawson, Alex Morales, Javonte Smart and Jarrett Culver all added 14 points.
