ORLANDO, Fla. – The Orlando Magic are in a do-or-die game Friday night against the Charlotte Hornets to earn the No. 8 seed in the NBA playoffs.
The winner of Friday’s game will play No. 1 Detroit Pistons in the first round. The loser is eliminated and will end the 2025-26 season.
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The Magic lost to the Philadelphia 76ers 109-97 Wednesday, while the Hornets beat the Miami Heat 127-126 in overtime Tuesday. Since the Magic are higher in the standings, Orlando will host Charlotte.
Even without star center Joel Embiid, the Magic couldn’t hang with the Sixers. Guard Tyrese Maxey scored 31 points, who was already averaging 30 points against the Magic this season. The Magic only hit 7-27 of 3-pointers and had 14 turnovers.
“You’ve got to give Philly a ton of credit for the way they swarmed and packed the paint,” Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley said after the game. “Our guys continued to fight. Their spirits are in the right space, knowing we got to go home and take care of home on Friday.”
Desmond Bane led the Magic with 34 points and going 4-6 from three, including getting the Magic within striking distance in the fourth quarter. Paolo Banchero struggled, going 7-22 from the floor and finishing with 18 points.
Now, the Magic will host the Hornets, a team that beat the Magic in three out of the four regular season matchups, all by double digits.
“[The Hornets] have been playing really well,” Banchero said. “We got to be ready; I got to be ready. We have to be locked in from the jump. I thought we played hard tonight, but it wasn’t enough. It’s going to take even more of an effort, and it’s going to take me playing better as well. It’s definitely a big game on Friday.”
Tip off at the Kia Center is 7:30 p.m.