The Osceola Magic picked up right where they left off.
One of the G League’s hottest teams to close the regular season, the top-seeded Magic opened the playoffs with a commanding 129-114 win over the Indiana Mad Ants on Thursday night at Osceola Heritage Park. With the victory, they advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they’ll host the Maine Celtics on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET.
“It’s super exciting,” said head coach Dylan Murphy. “Winning in the playoffs is the most important thing at any level… but we’re not done yet.”
Osceola came out firing, building a 21-point lead by the end of the first quarter, fueled by strong starts from Mac McClung and Ethan Thompson. Thompson scored 15 of his 29 points in the opening frame, while McClung delivered a franchise-playoff-record 39 points, putting on a clinic throughout the night.
“You can’t take these opportunities for granted,” said Thompson. “We were ready.”
McClung’s dagger 3-pointer with just over five minutes left sealed the deal as he turned to the crowd and declared, “This is my house.”
“These fans have embraced us,” McClung said. “But we’re not satisfied. We know what we want.”
The Magic shot 48.8% from the field and 46.2% from three, while locking down Indiana to just 28.2% from beyond the arc.
“We defended at a super high level,” Murphy added. “We protected the paint, rebounded, and ran.”
Now, the Magic—who held the G League’s best home record in the East (13-4)—will try to punch their ticket to the Finals on their home court. They went 2-0 against Maine this season, both wins coming on the road.
“We expect Maine’s best shot,” McClung said. “But that’s exactly what we want. This is who we are, and we’re ready for the challenge.”
SOURCE: NBA.com, Osceola Magic, Dan Savage, OsceolaMagic.com
