The Orlando Magic were able to rally to beat the New Orleans Pelicans on Easter Sunday, 112-108 largely thanks to the performance of Desmond Bane.

Bane scored a team-high 27 points, including 14 points in the fourth quarter as Orlando overcame a seven-point deficit heading into the final 12 minutes of play. After the game, he credited his team and pointed to the impact of the bench.

“Yeah, I mean, I think it says that we're, you know, extremely resilient,” Bane said. “[We] keep fighting, keep playing. A lot of credit to the bench. You know, it's not an easy position going into the game when teams got leads and got momentum.

“But, you know, I felt like our bench is kind of what helped ignite us tonight. And then late down the stretch, our starting group kind of came alive and found ways to make plays.”

The Magic’s bench outscored New Orleans’, 27-17 with Jevon Carter leading the second unit with 11 points on 5-9 shooting. After defeating the Dallas Mavericks on Friday, the Magic return home with a pair of road wins in their pocket.

It is the first time Orlando has won consecutive games since its seven-game winning streak from early to mid-March. With just four regular season games remaining after defeating New Orleans, Bane understands how crucial it was for his team to find victories away from home.

“I think it was humongous,” Bane said. “I mean, every game down the stretch is huge and, you know, is going to have a lot of meaning to where we end up going into the postseason.”

The Magic were able to win the rebounding battle against the Pelicans, 57-47 and dominate in second chance points, 24-5. 

“Yeah, I mean, I think that you got to be able to win in multiple ways,” Bane said. “You know, whether we're making shots or missing shots, we can control our effort and, you know, the offensive glass is straight effort plays. 

“You know, Paolo, Wendell; guards coming in there to crash. You know, I thought that all the way up and down the board, we just had resiliency.”

Bane circled back to the effort of Wendell Carter Jr. and praised him for the way he has been playing and how he has been able to adapt to what the team has needed from him throughout the season.

“He's balling right now,” Bane said. “I mean, he's playing really good basketball and, you know, we've asked so much of Wendell, you know, to guard, whether it's switching on the perimeter, guarding and drop; protecting the rim. 

“We've been asking him to run the floor early in the season,” Bane added. “We was telling him to space and, you know, so he's been adaptable and, you know, he's been huge for us all season and he's playing some of his best basketball headed into the postseason.”

Don't miss out on our ROUNDTABLE community and the latest news!

It's completely free to join. Share your thoughts, engage with our Roundtable writers, and chat with fellow members.

Download the free Roundtable APP, and stay even more connected!

For additional coverage, subscribe to our Full Court Magic Podcast!