Magic rout into playoffs

Orlando is back in the playoffs after burying Charlotte 121-90 on Friday night in the Eastern Conference play-in game. (espn.com) Paolo Banchero scored 25 points, Franz Wagner added 21, and the Magic put five players in double figures at Kia Center. Orlando led 38-16 after one quarter and 68-37 at halftime. (espn.com) Charlotte never got the game under control. LaMelo Ball finished with 23 points, but the Hornets shot 33.7% from the field and 26.7% from 3-point range in a 31-point loss. (espn.com) The win gave Orlando the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference and set a first-round series against No. 1 Detroit. That best-of-seven series opens Sunday, April 19, on the Pistons’ home floor. (apnews.com) The play-in tournament decides the last two playoff spots in each conference, with seeds 7 through 10 fighting for them after the regular season. Orlando lost its first play-in game earlier this week, then got a second chance and took it by blowing out Charlotte. (espn.com) Detroit finished as the East’s top seed and now draws a Magic team that went 41-41 in the regular season before the play-in. The Pistons-Magic matchup is one of the conference’s four first-round pairings now locked into place. (sports.yahoo.com) For Charlotte, the loss ends a late push that included a play-in win over Miami earlier in the week. The Hornets reached Friday at 44-38, then fell behind by 22 after one quarter and never got closer. (espn.com) Orlando’s reward for one of its cleanest games of the season is a fast turnaround and a road opener against Cade Cunningham and Detroit. After a one-sided night in Orlando, the stakes shift from survival to a seven-game series. (sports.yahoo.com)