For the Orlando Magic, it’s winning time — and it hasn’t been this way in a dozen years.
At least, not to this degree.
Courtesy of their 121-106 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday, the Magic have a record of 42-28. With just 12 games left, they have assured themselves a winning record.
And yes, that’s just the second time in 12 years they can say that. More important to this year’s team is the fact it is rolling into the final few weeks of the regular season.
Through Thursday, the Magic had won 18 of 23.
All-Star center/forward Paolo Banchero, of course, is a major reason why. He finished the win over New Orleans with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists.
“Just trying to let the game come to me,” Banchero told reporters. “I tried to communicate with my passing. I just wanted to keep finding guys.”
Interestingly, Banchero missed his first 10 shots, including two free throws, before finishing 9-of-18 from the floor.
So he was much like this Magic team has been all season — never down for long and showing an ability to bounce back when all else seems lost.
Barring a major basketball catastrophe, the Magic are headed back to the playoffs. And that’s not something they have said often during the last decade. But clearly, these aren’t the same old Orlando Magic.
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