Cole Anthony carries Magic past Hawks, into playoffs

ORLANDO, Fla. — Cole Anthony came off the Magic bench with 26 points and six assists to lead the Orlando Magic to a 120-95 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night in the first game of the Play-In Tournament.

Paolo Banchero had 17 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Magic, and Wendell Carter Jr. added 19 points and seven rebounds. Anthony Black, also off the bench, scored 16 points on 6 of 7 shooting in the the Magic’s first appearance in a play-in game.

Earning the Eastern Conference’s seventh seed after a 41-41 regular season, the Magic will play in a first-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics starting on Sunday at Boston.

Trae Young led the Hawks with 28 points and six assists before getting two technical fouls and an automatic ejection with 4:47 left in the game.

The Hawks, who have reached the playoffs through the play-in route in two of the last three seasons, will play at home Friday night for the eighth spot against the winner of Wednesday night’s game at Chicago between the Bulls and the Miami Heat.

Georges Niang scored 15 points and Onyeka Okongwu had 11 points and nine rebounds for the Hawks.

Banchero and Black produced most of the offense and the Hawks scored just two points in the final 6 minutes of the first quarter.

Anthony, who averaged 9.4 points in an injury-plagued season, made 10 of 17 shots including 4 of 9 3-pointers.