The Orlando Magic may have fallen 136-124 on the road at the Philadelphia 76ers, but there was one magical moment in the contest.
As time expired to end the third quarter, Magic guard Anthony Black heaved a 63-foot shot attempt to beat the buzzer and drained it cleanly.
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Anthony Black was the second NBA player to make a successful heave shot this seasonCredit: Getty
This three-pointer ultimately brought the Magic to within seven points of the Sixers going into the fourth quarter, trailing 101-94.
Ordinarily, Black may not have attempted that same shot in seasons past, but with the introduction of the “heave rule,” this may have given him the extra motivation to give it a go and see what happens.
The heave rule is a new rule that was introduced for the new 2025-26 NBA season, which states that distance shots taken from at least 36 feet away from the basket and in the final three seconds of the first three quarters will no longer count against a player’s individual field goal percentage.
Instead, they will only be recorded as a team attempt and has been implemented in efforts to attract players to attempt those slightly more audacious shots as time runs out, without fear that it will negatively impact their own stat line.
Black’s moment of magic not enough to rally against 76ers
But, even though 21-year-old Black nailed his deep-range attempt, he did not get credited for that particular field goal.
Thus, the third-year guard finished the night having recorded 14 points off the bench shooting 50.0 percent from the field but went just 3-of-7 from the free throw line for a lowly 42.9 percent.
He also had three rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block.
However, the backcourt duo of All-Star Tyrese Maxey and rookie VJ Edgecombe – who made Sixers franchise history on debut – combined for 69 points from 51 percent from the field and 15 assists.
Furthermore, Kelly Oubre tacked on a 25 point 10 rebound double-double to see the Sixers go 3-0 on the season, as former MVP Joel Embiid sat out the contest as he continues to rehab an injury.
Although Paolo Banchero dropped a team-high 32 points, the Magic were unable to use the injection of energy from Black’s highlight play to form any kind of rally back into the game.
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Anthony Black’s performance off the bench and highlight play wasn’t enough to ignite the Magic offenseCredit: Getty
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A new star backcourt in Philadelphia is brewing with Tyrese Maxey and rookie VJ EdgecombeCredit: Getty
Despite this loss, fans were hyped about seeing a role player like Black – who has averaged just 20.9 minutes in his NBA career – take on big shots when their team is down.
“Now that’s the shooting the Magic needs!,” one fan posted to Reddit, with Orlando ranking 29th in the league in three-point percentage (29.1 percent), trailing only the defending champions Oklahoma City Thunder (27.9 percent) in that category.
“This rule both rewards cowardice (bad) and makes for absolute banger highlights (good),” another fan commented.
“Seeing more heaves makes me so happy. Even if stars not taking them before was pathetic (aka guys who weren’t at risk of losing money due to 3p% incentives), it is overall a net positive to get more heaves up to add excitement to the ends of quarters,” a third wrote.
Black joins Denver Nuggets star Jamal Murray as the only two players so far through the opening week of the 2025-26 season to take advantage of this new heave rule.
The 28-year-old 2023 NBA champion drained a shot from almost the identical position to that of Black in the first quarter of the Nuggets’ 133-111 win over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday.
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