It seems nobody can stop Orlando Magic power forward Paolo Banchero in March, not even the top team in the Eastern Conference.
In Sunday’s road game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Banchero scored a game-high 24 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and had seven assists.
He also drilled a key shot late in the fourth quarter. With 45.1 seconds left in the game and the Magic trailing 103-102, Banchero drove to his right and nailed a 16-foot pullup jump shot.
Banchero’s clutch bucket was a part of an 11-3 run that sealed a 108-103 win for the Magic.
The loss ended a 16-game win streak for Cleveland (56-11), the longest in franchise history. Orlando, meanwhile, improved to 32-37.
Orlando has lost five of its first eight games in March. Banchero, however, has been excellent.
In his first seven games in March, the first overall pick of the 2022 NBA Draft had averaged 30.7 points per game on 53.3% shooting from the field and logged 7.6 rebounds per game and four assists per game.
The Magic need Banchero to keep flourishing to stay in the playoff hunt. If the postseason started Sunday, the Magic would have the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference and face the No. 7 seed Atlanta Hawks in the play-in game.
The Magic are short-handed this season, as shooting guard Jalen Suggs and center Moritz Wagner have suffered season-ending knee injuries.
If Orlando makes it out of the play-in and into the playoffs, they could still be a tough out for one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, especially if Banchero’s scoring spurt continues.
