The visiting Orlando Magic and Atlanta Hawks will get an early test of one another on Sunday, two days before they square off in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament.
The outcome of Sunday’s game will have no impact on the playoffs, as the Magic and Hawks already are locked into the seventh and eighth positions, respectively, and will meet again for a chance to advance to the playoffs. Sunday will be about resting players and staying healthy.
Orlando (41-40) has won five straight games and has beaten Atlanta in two of their previous three meetings this season. The two teams played on Tuesday with Paolo Banchero scoring 33 points in a 119-112 win.
The Magic endured the loss of Banchero for a big chunk of the season to a torn oblique. They also lost sixth man Moritz Wagner to a torn ACL as well as lead guard Jalen Suggs with a knee injury. Both are out for the rest of the season.
“This speaks to the character of this group, you find out who you are and what you’re able to do in times of adversity,” Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley said. “We had a homestand where things didn’t look amazing to everyone, but we were able to bounce back and find a way to play with a sense of joy and urgency and defensive focus.”
Playing mostly reserves, Orlando cruised past the Pacers 129-115 on Friday. The Magic tied a franchise record with 43 points in the second quarter and shot a season-high 57.6 percent from the floor.
Atlanta (39-42) has won three of its last four games as the team makes an appearance in the play-in tournament for the fourth straight year. The Hawks advanced out of the play-in in 2022 and 2023 but were eliminated last season after losing to the Chicago Bulls.
The Hawks rallied from a halftime deficit to beat the Sixers 124-110 on Friday, with Caris LeVert posting 31 points off the bench and Trae Young erupting for 36.
“That’s the beauty of being on a team that you’re not going to play well every night individually and certain guys can pick each other up and that was [Caris] tonight,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “I thought tonight he took really good shots. He defended really well tonight.”
Young leads the NBA in assists with 11.6 per game while pacing the Hawks with 24.2 points. The other big story for Atlanta this season has been the play of Dyson Daniels, who leads the league in total steals with 229. But don’t expect either to play much — if at all — on Sunday.
It’s a classic offense vs. defense matchup: Atlanta scores 118.2 points per game, which ranks fifth in the NBA, while Orlando gives up the league’s fewest points at 105.4.
The only game that really matters is Tuesday’s play-in showdown in Orlando, Fla. The winner of that game advances to meet the second-seeded Boston Celtics in the first round.
“You start preparing by watching past games — what we’ve done, what they’ve done, the adjustments that need to be made,” Mosley said. “What we did well, what we need to improve on and all those things you are looking at right now.
“So, being able to get ahead of that — not just for this game coming up on Sunday, but also obviously the play-in. Knowing what we need to do, how we have to approach the game. And the beauty of it and the blessing of it is being at home in front of our fans.”
