Osceola Magic point guard Mac McClung was named NBA G League Player of the Week, and Coach Dylan Murphy was the league's Coach of the Month for March, as announced by the league this week.
The two know who the Magic play in Thursday's Eastern Conference semifinal playoff game. The Indiana Mad Ants beat the Greensboro Swarm, 120-110, in Tuesday's quarterfinals, and the Mad Ants (21-14) will come to Kissimmee Thursday to play the Magic (22-12). Tip-off is at 8 p.m.
The Magic split a two-game road series against Indiana on Jan. 8-10.
In games March. 24-30, McClung helped the Magic to a 3-1 record and clinch the top-overall seed in the playoffs. That stretch included scoring a career-high and Magic single-game record 46 points in an overtime win over the Birmingham Squadron on Mar. 28. In the four games he averaged 32.8 points, four rebounds and 3.5 assists per game in 35 minutes and shot 53% percent from the field. It's the third time McClung has won the G League honor.
This is the first time Murphy has won Coach of the Month honors. The Magic, who started the regular season 3-6, started March in sixth place in the East. Murphy led the Magic to an 11-3 record, going from sixth to first; they secured the top seed in the East for the second consecutive year and are the top-overall playoff seed this year, earning home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. Osceola had the highest-scoring offense in the G League in March, scoring 123.9 points per game.
“It’s all about the guys and the way they’ve played,” Murphy said. “Every award we get at this point is about the team. Obviously, it’s an honor and I’m super grateful, but it's been about the way our guys have been playing. That’s really what the coach of the month awards are about.”
