Osceola Magic Coach Dylan Murphy could only look on as the Greensboro Swarm ended his team's season Sunday in the NBA G League Eastern Conference finals. (Photo/Taylor McFee)
The Easter Bunny gave the Osceola Magic goose eggs in a 134-121 loss to the Greensboro Swarm in the G League Eastern Conference Finals at Silver Spurs Arena Sunday night.
Last week the Magic had won the Eastern Conference regular season title for the third consecutive year before losing to the Stockton Kings in the G League Championship game.
“I’m really proud of our group,” a somber Osceola Magic coach Dylan Murphy said. “The team was about winning, but they also bought into the process. When we did experience bumps in the road, we got closer and pulled together more.”
Lester Quinones, who scored a game-high 40 points, added that, “It was special being on a winning team playing meaningful basketball as a pro.”
Turnovers and poor shooting spurts led to the Magic’s demise as they lost to the Swarm for the third time this season. The teams met twice during the regular season with the Swarm taking both close meetings in Greensboro (27-12) with one going to overtime. Former University of Connecticut start Liam McNeeley dominated the game for the Swarm scoring 20 points with six rebounds and five assists.
“We were playing really fast in the first quarter and getting out in transition,” McNeeley, a 2025 Phoenix Sun first-round pick, said. “I have to give credit to the coaches for putting together a great game plan, this game, and the previous two games.”
The Magic (28-11) turned their defense up in the fourth quarter to trim a 19-point deficit to eight when Quinones started the fourth quarter with a trey. The Swarm’s Terrell Brown Jr. (24 points, 6 assists) answered back with a three and the teams traded baskets time and time again. Finally, a Colin Castleton two-point free throw and a putback cut the Swarm lead to 115-108 with 7:09 left. A Javonte Smart 3-pointer cut it to four points after a Swarm timeout igniting the Easter Sunday crowd. Greensboro quieted the fans with a 6-0 run that effectively ended the Magic season.
“We fought and fought and fought and made it a basketball game and came up short,” Murphy said. “But this is a credit to our character.”
Greensboro swarmed the Magic out of the gate, taking an early 17-8 lead. The Magic shot only 25% from the field during the first five minutes, compared to 64% by the Swarm during the run. The Magic went on an 7-0 run of their own to cut the deficit to two points, but the Swarm answered back with a 7-0 tun of their own to extend their lead to 24-15. While Osceola’s shooting percentage improved, 10 turnovers led to the Magic being down 36-26 at the end of the first quarter.
“They do a great job of pushing the pace, crashing the glass, and driving the basketball in transition,” Murphy said. “There’s a reason why they beat us twice previously.”
Osceola was down 73-59 at the half, and the teams exchanged scores to start the third quarter. The Magic cut the deficit to 12 points late in the period on a Smart 3-pointer. The quarter ended with the Swarm up 105-94 after a late second 3-pointer by Quinones.
“They just came out played tougher than us today,” Quinones said. “I feel like I really wasn’t their defense turning the ball over. We were throwing it away or dribbling off our feet. We had a lot of unforced turnovers that were just getting them layups in transition.”
Alex Morales had 29 points, and Castleton added 23 points in the loss. The Magic ended the game with 19 turnovers.
