Magic crush Bucks to cruise into East playoffs as fifth seed

Paolo Banchero had 26 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists and the Orlando Magic clinched a playoff spot with a 113-88 rout of the visiting Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday afternoon.

Franz Wagner added 25 points and three steals as the Magic (47-35) earned their first playoff berth since the 2019-20 season. Orlando is the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference and will face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round.

The Bucks (49-33) lost for the eighth time in the past 11 games. Milwaukee will be the 3 seed in the East as the No. 2 seed New York Knicks defeated the Chicago Bulls 120-119 in overtime on Sunday. The Bucks will face the Indiana Pacers in the first round.

Bobby Portis had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Khris Middleton also scored 17 points for Milwaukee, which again played without star Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf). Damian Lillard was just 2-of-14 shooting while scoring 16 points.

Orlando put the game away with an 18-2 spurt to open the fourth quarter. Cole Anthony scored 11 of his 13 points in the final quarter for the Magic.

Orlando shot 49.4 percent from the field, including 11 of 35 from 3-point range. Jonathan Isaac and Moritz Wagner added 10 points apiece for the Magic.

Milwaukee made just 40.5 percent of its attempts and was a shaky 7 of 27 from behind the arc. Brook Lopez added 11 points for the Bucks.

Orlando led by nine after three quarters before ripping off the first 11 points of the fourth period.

Franz Wagner drained a 3-pointer and Anthony followed with four straight points to push the lead to 87-71 with 9:15 remaining.

Wagner and Anthony then each stole the ball and drove for layups 21 seconds apart as the Magic increased their advantage to 20 with 8:37 left.

After Middleton hit a jumper for Milwaukee's first points of the period with 8:19 remaining, Orlando rattled off seven more points in a row.

Anthony hit a floater, Wagner made two free throws and Joe Ingles swished a 3-pointer to make it 98-73 with 7:10 left.

Orlando's lead reached 30 when Anthony Black drained a trey with 3:20 left in the contest and cruised to the finish.

Milwaukee trailed 66-62 after three free throws by Lillard with 4:20 left in the third quarter. Orlando answered with a 14-4 surge to open up a 14-point lead before the Bucks scored the final five to pull within 80-71 entering the final stanza.

The Magic finished the first half with a 19-3 burst to hold a 47-42 halftime lead. Banchero scored 17 in the half for Orlando, while Portis had 14 in the half for Milwaukee.