Keaton Wallace had a triple-double with 15 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds to lift the Atlanta Hawks to a 117-105 win over the visiting Orlando Magic on Sunday afternoon.
The two teams will meet again Tuesday in Orlando in the play-in tournament with the winner claiming the seventh seed and a first-round match-up against Boston. Orlando finished the regular season 41-41, Atlanta 40-42. The two teams split four regular-season meetings.
It was a day for the reserves to log plenty of minutes as both teams rested all of their primary players. Wallace is in his fourth year as a pro but spent most of that time in the G League before making his NBA debut in October 2024.
Terance Mann led the Hawks with 19 points. Jacob Toppin had a career-high 17 points for Atlanta, including five 3-pointers.
Anthony Black led the Magic with 20 points. Jett Howard had 16 off the bench.
Atlanta shot 53.4 percent from the floor to Orlando’s 45.5.
The two teams traded baskets early. There was a brief injury scare for the Magic when reserve guard Cole Anthony twisted his ankle after a steal and dunk seven minutes into the game. Anthony returned, but only played 13 minutes.
Atlanta made the game-defining move with a 13-0 run bridging the first and second quarters, highlighted by threes from Vit Krejci and Garrison Mathews.
In the middle of the run, Mathews took a hard charge and suffered a bloody nose, but refused to leave the contest. Atlanta would never trail again and led by as much as 20 in the fourth quarter.
Down 37-24, Orlando went on a 3-point shooting barrage. Gary Harris made three triples, and Tristan da Silva added two more as part of a 17-6 run that got the Magic back within striking distance.
Dominick Barlow helped the Hawks end the half strong, scoring six straight, including a wicked dunk off a long pass by Wallace. Mathews capped the first-half scoring with a four-point play and Atlanta led 58-46.
No seventh seed in the play-in tournament has ever failed to advance to the playoffs. The Hawks will be in the play-in tournament for the fourth time, the most of any NBA team.
–Field Level Media
