Magic Fumble Lead, Fall to Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks went on a 20-2 run to end the third quarter en route to a 101-92 win against the Orlando Magic on Thursday.

Both teams started cold. Neither team crossed the double-digit mark until the Mavericks went up 10-6 with 4:46 left in the first quarter. Later in the game the Magic took a 68-57 lead with just over five minutes to go in the third quarter. By the end of the quarter, the Mavericks led 77-70, a lead they held for the rest of the game.

with 35 points vs. Dallas…

Paolo Banchero became the first Magic player since Tracy McGrady in 2003 to have 30+ PTS in five straight games.

Banchero joins McGrady and Shaquille O'Neal as the only players in franchise history to have 30+ PTS in at least five consecutive… pic.twitter.com/fGjnXH4NNR

— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) March 28, 2025

For the Magic, Paolo Banchero scored his eighth double-double of the season with 35 points and 10 rebounds. Franz Wagner dropped 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds.

Mavericks guard Jaden Hardy scored 22 points and shot 5 of 6 from 3 in his 20 minutes on the court. Anthony Davis underperformed with only 15 points and seven rebounds in his second game back after an adductor injury. He shot 5 of 19 from the field including 1 for 5 from three.

Davis didn’t shoot well, but the Magic shot worse. They were 5 for 30 from three with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope shoot 0 of 3 and Wagner shoot 0 of 5.

Orlando’s playoff path

Both teams entered the game 35-38 fighting for a spot in their respective play-in tournaments. Orlando’s loss dropped the team to eighth in the Eastern Conference with only eight games remaining in the season. The game meant a little more to the Mavericks, though. Dallas is locked in a three-team battle for the last two play-in spots with the Sacramento Kings and the Phoenix Suns.

https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1905491289468023028

With the Toronto Raptors in the east sitting at 26-47 and 11th in east and the Milwaukee Bucks at 40-32 and sixth, the Magic are unlikely to leave play-in territory.

The Magic stay in Orlando to finish out the month with a game against the Kings on Saturday and the LA Clippers on Monday. Unfortunately, they’ve lost eight of their last 10 home games. They’ll try to turn things around in the final stretch before the playoffs.