PHILADELPHIA — The Magic face a straightforward situation when Orlando hosts the Hornets on Friday night in the NBA play-in tournament.
Win-and-in.
A win against No. 9 Charlotte sets up a first-round playoff series against the top-seeded Pistons, and a loss ends a grueling season that delivered its latest gut check Wednesday night against the 76ers at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
“It’s not just another game, it is do-or-die,” Magic guard Jalen Suggs said in the locker room after Orlando fell 109-97 at Philadelphia in the Nos. 7-8 play-in game. “If you’re not excited for it, something’s wrong.
“We all want to play,” he added when asked about the idea of Orlando extending its season past Friday. “Nobody wants to lose.”
Had the No. 8 Magic not lost Wednesday night, they’d be headed to No. 2 Boston for a first-round series that opens Sunday afternoon at TD Garden. Instead, that’s where the Sixers will travel after they outscored Orlando 10-2 across the final 3 ½ minutes in front of a rowdy home crowd.
Despite the 12-point loss that puts them on the brink of elimination and turns up the heat further on coach Jamahl Mosley, the Magic believe they played better Wednesday night compared to other losses this season.
“We get another chance to do, learn from it and try to be better the next game,” forward Franz Wagner said in the locker room. “But I think if we played 82 games like (Wednesday) I think we would have a better record than what we had.”
To Wagner’s point, the Magic outrebounded the Sixers (41-40), recorded more assists than them (19-17) and scored more points in the paint (44-38) as well as the fastbreak (15-12) than Philadelphia did.
Still, the Sixers shot the ball far more accurately from distance, making 12 3-pointers vs. the Magic’s 7, and they were sharper at the free-throw line (where the Magic missed seven attempts compared to the 76ers’ four).
The difference in those margins, combined with clutch shooting from Sixers star Tyrese Maxey (31 points), Kelly Oubre Jr. (19) and rookie VJ Edgecombe (19), were enough to put Philadelphia on top.
“We just feel like we weren’t able to get as many stops as we wanted to,” Magic guard Anthony Black said in the locker room. “Maxey hit some tough shots … and they just made some timely plays down the stretch. We didn’t do a good enough job finishing out possessions and getting good looks on the other end.”
While Maxey had help from others, Magic guard Desmond Bane did not. Bane led all scorers with 34 points by finishing 4 for 6 from beyond the arc and 10 for 11 at the free throw line.
Paolo Banchero (18 points) and Franz Wagner (12) totaled 30 points while shooting a combined 12 for 30 from field and 0 for 7 from distance. Suggs struggled mightily, ending 1 for 9 from the floor (and 1 for 6 from 3) with just four points in 37 minutes.
“I’ve got to be better, I’m not going to lie,” Suggs said in the locker room.
For Banchero, it was his second straight game shooting 7-for-22 (31.8%) from the floor, 0-for-5 from 3-point range and recording six turnovers.
“I think I had some looks at the start of the second half that I didn’t shoot, and when you do that, I think the basketball gods aren’t going to reward you,” Banchero said at the podium. “Because then I had another couple shots that felt good that didn’t go in. Just a frustrating night for sure for me. Coming in Friday you’ve got to come in with a clear mind and go do what you’ve got to do to win the game.
“At the end of the day I’ve been through slumps before, and so you’ve gotta be able to respond in a way where it results in a win,” he added.
A win against Charlotte won’t come easy. The Hornets avoided elimination on Tuesday night by taking down the No. 10 Heat at home 127-126 in overtime.
The Hornets (44-38) handled the Magic (45-37) in the regular season, winning three of their four meetings by an average margin of 20.3 points. Orlando won the first matchup of the year by 16 points on Oct. 30, but Charlotte has been in control since then.
After starting the regular season 16-28, the Hornets used a 27-point win over Orlando on Jan. 22 to jumpstart a second-half run. Charlotte went onto win its next eight games and close out the regular season 28-10.
Charlotte’s win over Miami was its first in the postseason in a decade. While the Magic are fighting to return to the playoffs for a third straight season, the Hornets haven’t reached the playoffs since 2016.
“They’ve kicked our (expletive) this year,” Banchero said about the Hornets. “So we’ve got to be ready. I’ve got to be ready. And we’ve got to be locked in from the jump. I thought we played hard (Wednesday), but it wasn’t enough. And so it’s going to take even more of an effort, and it’s going to take me playing better, as well, for us to get the win.”
Although Wednesday’s loss at Philadelphia means the Magic still haven’t won on the road in the postseason under Mosley, home is where they’ve had success the last two years.
The Magic are now 0-8 on the road in the postseason, but they’ve gone 5-1 inside Kia Center between their series against Cleveland in 2024, last year’s play-in win over Atlanta and last year’s series against Boston.
Tickets for Friday’s play-in game at Kia Center, which can be purchased at OrlandoMagic.com/postseason, went on sale Thursday afternoon, the team said.
“It helps a lot and we earned that,” Wagner said about having homecourt advantage vs. Charlotte. “It’s good to have the fans to support us.
“We want to win as badly as anyone.”
Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com
Up next …
Magic vs. Hornets, play-in tournament
When: 7:30 p.m., Friday, Kia Center
TV: Prime Video