Magic Snap 6-Year Drought, Clinch NBA Playoff Berth with Win vs. Celtics

After a six-year drought, the Orlando Magic are back in the NBA postseason following their 116-108 victory over the Boston Celtics on Sunday.

The Magic have had extreme ups and downs this season, though one benefit of playing in the Southeast Division is it affords teams an opportunity to find themselves without falling out of contention. 

The Magic fell a season-high 11 games under .500 on Jan. 29 following a 126-117 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. 

Despite seeming to fall out of playoff contention at that point, Orlando's front office opted not to trade away its most valuable assets—Nikola Vucevic and Terrence Ross being the most notable examples—at the deadline. 

In fact, the Magic hope they found a long-term answer to their ongoing question at point guard by acquiring Markelle Fultz from the Philadelphia 76ers on Feb. 7 in exchange for Jonathon Simmons and two draft picks. 

While Fultz's impact won't be felt until next season, Orlando emphasized throughout the season how important a 2018-19 playoff appearance after was to the franchise.

Vucevic summed up the Magic's feelings prior to their March 28 game against the Detroit Pistons, via Roy Parry of the Orlando Sentinel:

“Obviously Coach Cliff (Steve Clifford) coming and setting the tone for us, and us buying into it and getting better as the season went on. That’s what got us to this point. We’ve had a lot of ups and downs over the year and everything, but it shows that we’ve made improvements, each player individually and as a team as well. A lot of it came from him, for sure.

“But at the end of the day our goal wasn’t to win 12 more games. Our goal was to get the playoffs, and now we’re in a position to do it. So now it’s on us these last seven games to finish the job.”

Orlando flipped the switch on its season after a 20-31 start by winning 20 of its next 29 games to secure a playoff berth for the first time since 2011-12. 

The Magic can frustrate opponents in the playoffs. They are an outstanding defensive team, ranked fifth in points allowed per game and eighth in efficiency.

There will be plenty of time for the Magic to assess how they can win a playoff series for the first time since 2009-10. For now, the organization has earned their moment to celebrate getting back to the postseason.