Paolo Banchero and the Orlando Magic hosted the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night with their season on the line in the NBA Play-In Tournament. The winner moved on; the loser went home.
The Magic had already put themselves in this spot by losing to a Boston Celtics team that sat its starters in the final game of the regular season, a result that cost Orlando the No. 7 seed it would have earned with a win and a home game against the Philadelphia 76ers. Instead, they had to keep going through the play-in, where they also lost to a 76ers team without MVP center Joel Embiid.
Charlotte arrived with a very different kind of momentum. The Hornets beat the Miami Heat in overtime on Tuesday to stay alive, and they entered Friday ranked second in the NBA in net rating since the All-Star break. LaMelo Ball hit the overtime game-winner against Miami, even though he shot 2-for-16 from three.
The Hornets did not look fully polished in their biggest game of the year, either. Kon Knueppel was non-existent against the Heat, and coach Charles Lee benched him down the stretch. That left Charlotte leaning on Ball and a roster that had already pushed its way through one elimination game.
Friday’s matchup was part of a closing night in the play-in tournament with two playoff spots still to be decided. The Detroit Pistons and Oklahoma City Thunder were waiting for first-round opponents, while the Golden State Warriors were set to face the Phoenix Suns after shocking the Los Angeles Clippers and moving one game from the playoffs. A Suns loss would make them the first seventh seed to miss the playoffs since the play-in tournament began.
For Orlando, the path to the bracket had already narrowed by the time it reached Friday. For Charlotte, the path was still open. The team that handled the moment better would keep playing.
