Three days after defeating the Mavericks for the first time in four years, the Magic accomplished something on Sunday that the franchise hadn’t done stretching back even further.
Orlando clinched a regular-season series against the Bucks.
The Magic, who crushed Milwaukee inside Fiserv Forum 130-91 on Sunday night thanks in large part to 33 points from Paolo Banchero, secured the three-game regular-season series over the Bucks 2-1.
The last time Orlando won a regular-season series over Milwaukee was during the 2011-12 season — two years before the arrival of two-time league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo (who missed Sunday’s game managing a right calf injury).
So, how did Jamahl Mosley‘s squad do it?
How did Orlando exit not only Milwaukee with a crucial victory but also the weekend undefeated, despite a back-to-back set on the road against the Bucks and Timberwolves?
By leaning on its recently recaptured defensive identity, of course.
The Magic improved to 7-0 when holding opponents to under 100 points this season. Sunday’s game at Milwaukee marked the fifth time since Feb. 1 that Orlando didn’t allow 100 points in a game.
“Our spirit is much better, we’re talking much more, our energy is being sustained throughout these games, and it’s not perfect, but we’re not rattling, we’re not overreacting to turnovers, misses and stretches where (the opponent) is rolling and scoring,” said Jalen Suggs, who notched 20 points with three 3-pointers Sunday. “We’re doing a great job staying leveled.”
Added Mosley: “For us, we’ve got to know we have to keep hanging our hat on the defensive end.”
The Magic turned that defense into offense, too, when it improved to 7-0 scoring 130-plus points this season. The last time the Magic scored 130-plus at least seven times in a single season was 2019-20.
Against the Timberwolves, the Magic held their opponent to 22% shooting from 3-point range (9 for 40) while scoring 14 points off 12 turnovers. Although the Bucks shot slightly better from distance (13 for 44), they were still limited to 30% from beyond the arc and gave up 23 points off 17 takeaways.
After winning Saturday night at Minnesota by 27 points and then Sunday at Milwaukee by 39, Orlando won consecutive road games by 20-plus points for the first time in franchise history.
The pair of wins also marked the first time the Magic have won on back-to-back days by 20-plus points since March 4-5, 2005 — more than two decades ago.
“Especially these last couple (games), guys aren’t going on crazy runs against us,” Suggs said. “We’re doing a really good job of keeping it to seven, six (points) and under, and then doing a great job of responding to not let them get too much momentum rolling.
“Top to bottom, everybody’s doing a great job right now,” he added.
Although the Magic are home for five of their next eight games — starting Wednesday against the Cavaliers on ESPN at Kia Center — the road ahead doesn’t ease up.
Including Cleveland, six of Orlando’s next eight opponents were in position for the postseason entering Monday. The two opponents sitting outside looking in were Washington, who the Magic host on Thursday, and Indiana, who travel to Central Florida on March 23.
Beyond facing tough competition, this week also includes a critical date for the Magic.
Wednesday marks the third week of the team’s approximate three-week re-evaluation timeline for Franz Wagner, who continues to manage a left high ankle sprain that’s kept him off the court for a total 34 games this season.
Orlando will also learn more about Anthony Black (low back strain), Jonathan Isaac (left knee strain) and rookie Jase Richardson (low back spasms) upon its return home. All three missed Sunday’s game at Milwaukee.
Regardless of who’s available, the Magic can’t afford to drop many games in order to remain in the hunt for a guaranteed playoff spot as a top-six seed in the Eastern Conference next month. Seeds 7-10 in each conference compete in the Play-In for the Nos. 7 and 8 seeds in the playoffs.
To show just how tight the race is to avoid the Play-In tournament in the East, consider this: Last Thursday, Orlando sat seventh in the standings. After Friday’s games, the Magic had fallen to eighth. On Saturday night, Orlando was back to sixth. Then during a portion of Sunday, it was seventh again.
But by the end of the weekend, the Magic (35-28) were sixth once more after moving to 7-3 since the league break.
With only 19 games remaining in the regular season, Orlando is confident about where it stands after two dominant road wins.
“We haven’t had back-to-back blowouts in, I don’t know how long,” Suggs said. “It feels amazing. … Close ones are nice. They’re still wins, but these feel way better. We’ve got a lot of practice in those close games which has been nice, but this is another level of growth as well.
“I think it’s been really good for us, these past two.”
Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com
Up next …
Magic vs. Cavaliers
When: 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Kia Center
TV: FanDuel Sports Network Florida, ESPN