Banchero’s brutal night

Paolo Banchero shot 7 for 22 with six turnovers in Orlando’s 109-97 play-in loss to Philadelphia on Wednesday, one of his roughest games of the season. (espn.com) (espn.ph) Banchero finished with 18 points, five rebounds and four assists in 36 minutes, but he missed all five of his three-point attempts and went 4 for 6 at the line. Orlando shot 33 for 81 as a team and committed 14 turnovers. (espn.ph) True shooting percentage is a scoring efficiency stat that folds field goals, three-pointers and free throws into one number. Using the standard formula, Banchero’s line against Philadelphia works out to 36.5 percent. (nba.com) (basketball-reference.com) The timing is the problem for Orlando. The loss sent the Magic out of the No. 7-vs.-No. 8 play-in game and into a winner-take-all game for the East’s last playoff spot. (nba.com) (sports.yahoo.com) That next game is against Charlotte, which already survived one elimination game by beating Miami on April 14. Orlando finished the regular season 45-37, one game ahead of Philadelphia and one game behind Atlanta in the Southeast Division race. (nba.com) (espn.com) Banchero’s season averages were much steadier than Wednesday’s box score. He entered the play-in averaging 22.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game for Orlando. (espn.com) Orlando has also seen this matchup go badly once already. Charlotte beat the Magic 130-111 on March 19, when the Hornets shot 53 percent from the field and 48 percent from three. (espn.com) Philadelphia, meanwhile, got 31 points from Tyrese Maxey and claimed the East’s No. 7 seed with the win. Banchero’s off night did not end Orlando’s season, but it left the Magic with no margin left. (nba.com) (espn.com)