Paolo Banchero scored 36 points and helped the visiting Orlando Magic erase a 19-point lead and defeat the Atlanta Hawks 114-108 on Thursday.
The game was tied 103-103 on a basket by Caris LeVert with 2:57 left, but the Magic scored nine straight points, including back-to-back 3-pointers by Cole Anthony and Banchero to regain the momentum and put the game away.
The win gives the Magic a 1 1/2-game lead over the Hawks for the No. 7 spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Orlando ended a three-game losing streak to Atlanta and evened the season series at 1-1. The two clubs play two more games during the final week of the season.
Banchero was 11-for-25 from the field to produce his seventh game of 30-plus points, with 11 rebounds and five assists. Franz Wagner added 25 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Georgia native Wendell Carter Jr. had a season-high 15 rebounds.
Atlanta got 38 points from Trae Young, his 16th game with 30-plus points this season. LeVert scored 13 and Zaccharie Risacher added 11 points and a career-high 12 rebounds.
Atlanta raced to an 18-point lead and took a 33-21 lead after the first quarter. The Hawks led by as many as 19 in the second quarter, which came with 10:13 left on a tip-in by Clint Capela, who returned after missing eight games with a lower back issue. Nevertheless, the Magic began whittling the lead and outscored Atlanta 23-10 over the final 5:08 and took its first lead of the game when Banchero nailed a 3-pointer — the only one Orlando made in the first half — with 4.1 seconds left for a 59-58 halftime advantage.
Orlando maintained the momentum in the third quarter and took a 90-81 lead into the fourth quarter. The Magic led 92-81, a game-high 11-point lead, early in the fourth quarter and led by nine with 7:14 remaining.
The Magic begins a season-long seven-game homestand on Friday against Memphis. The Hawks play the second leg of a three-game homestand on Sunday against Detroit.
–Field Level Media
