DETROIT — The night D.J. Augustin sank a 3-pointer from the top of the key to help the Magic stun the second-seeded Raptors on the road April 13, 2019, Jonathan Isaac remembers entering Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena feeling like an underdog.
And rightfully so, for that opening-round Eastern Conference playoff series.
During the 2018-19 season, Orlando needed to win 11 of its final 13 games. The Magic clawed their way to a 42-40 record and claimed the No. 7 seed to make the playoffs in the era before the NBA play-in tournament.
The Raptors wound up as NBA champs that season. Toronto won 58 contests in the regular season, went 32-9 at home and featured the league’s most improved player in Pascal Siakam and All-NBA second-team pick Kawhi Leonard.
Fast-forward to Sunday night: The underdog Magic went into Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena against the top-seeded Pistons and exited Game 1 of their first-round playoff series on top. While the outcome of both games was the same, the emotions that followed weren’t.
“It felt way different because I don’t know how long it had been since the Magic had been to the playoffs before that,” Isaac, the last Magic player from that 2019 squad still on the team, told the Orlando Sentinel on Sunday night. “That one – and Toronto was playing so well – that one was pretty crazy.
“Tonight felt confident,” the eighth-year veteran added. “Tonight felt resilient and reserved.”
To Isaac’s point, the Magic hadn’t been to the playoffs since 2012 when it matched up against Toronto seven years ago. This year’s group, however, is in the playoffs for a third consecutive year, though the Magic were dealing with a failure to meet expectations in the regular season.
Orlando needed two chances in the play-in tournament to even reach this point. The 2019 team didn’t have the luxury of the play-in as a fallback. Still, Isaac, who missed Game 1 at Detroit because of a left knee sprain, wasn’t surprised by Sunday’s result.
“We’ve had a rocky season, but I’ve always known that the confidence, the stature that this team has, is in there,” he said. “And now I guess we’ve proven the perfect time to let it come out.”
The Magic will need to continue to play with a high level of confidence Wednesday night for Game 2. They’ll need it to avoid the same fate as the 2019 squad. After winning Game 1, the Magic dropped their next four games in the first-round series against the eventual champion Raptors.
The last three times Orlando has won Game 1 of a playoff series (2020 in the NBA Bubble vs. Milwaukee, 2019 against Toronto and 2012 vs. Indiana), the Magic lost their next four games.
The last time Orlando won Game 1 of a playoff series and also won the series: 2010 vs. Charlotte in a first-round sweep. The Magic reached the Eastern Conference Finals that year, sweeping Atlanta in a semifinal before falling to Boston 4-2.
While Detroit will look to respond Wednesday, the longest-tenured member of the Magic likes what he’s seen so far inside the Orlando locker room and on the court against the Pistons.
“Everybody’s so vocal right now,” Isaac said. “Everybody’s so tuned in: It’s not about an individual, it’s about the team. Everybody’s important. Everybody’s contributing. And I just love it. I’m really excited.”
Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com