The 1st seed Osceola Magic (22-12) squared off against the 4th seed Indiana Mad Ants (20-14) on Thursday, April 3rd, in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
This was the first playoff game this season for the Osceola Magic as they clinched the number one spot in the Eastern Conference, granting them a first-round bye.
The Mad Ants headed into Silver Spurs Arena with the adrenaline after beating the Greensboro Swarm 120-110 on Tuesday, April 1.
The Magic got off to a hot start, outscoring the Mad Ants 12-2 in the first 2:30 of the game, causing Indiana to call the first timeout very early. The rest of the 1st quarter consisted of both teams trading buckets, with the Magic pulling away, finishing the quarter with a 21-point lead and the score of 47-26.
“I think we’re blessed to be in the position that we’re in with the number 1 seed; we had the time to prepare and watch them. We were ready to go out there and play them. I mean it’s playoff basketball, you can’t take these opportunities for granted,” Ethan Thompson, Osceola Magic guard, said on facing the Indiana Mad Ants.
The Magic continued to knock down shots in the 2nd quarter; they went into halftime leading by the score of 80-52. Leading both teams in scoring at the half was the Magic’s Ethan Thompson with 24 points.
“Ethan is the ultimate team guy. When he came here, we said we need you to be a catch-and-shoot guy. And he was able to get to cooking tonight,” Osceola Magic Head Coach, Dylan Murphy, said of Thompson’s performance.
The 3rd quarter continued to showcase purely Magic basketball as they hit 100 points with 1:29 left in the quarter. The Mad Ants continued to get a handful of baskets, as they continued to climb back from a very deep Magic lead. The quarter ended with the Magic leading 102-83.
Indiana showed they still had some energy to fight back, as during the 4th quarter, they were able to methodically cut the Magic’s lead, which at one point during the game reached 32, to 10 points with 6:16 left. As the last few minutes of the game progressed, it seemed like Indiana was finally getting their rhythm going, but after two consecutive threes by Mac McClung and a lay-up by Javonte Smart, Silver Spurs Arena was on their feet, and the Magic were able to pull away and get back to a comfortable lead.
At the final buzzer, the Magic came away with a solid defeat of the Mad Ants with a score of 129-114.
Mac McClung led both teams in scoring with a franchise playoff record 39 points.
“You have that poise and that understanding of where the moment was at. It’s a big credit to my teammates, just playing with me, understanding how I play. And they look for me, they put me in those situations to make those big shots. They believe in me,” McClung said on his playoff franchise record 39-point performance.
The Magic will face off against the 2nd seed, Maine Celtics, in the Eastern Conference Finals on Sunday, April 6th, at 7 p.m. at Silver Spurs Arena.
For more information on their upcoming Conference Finals showdown check their website or follow them on social media at @osceolamagic on Instagram and X.
