Cole Anthony came off the Magic bench with 26 points and six assists to lead the Orlando Magic to a 120-95 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night in the first game of the play-in tournament.

Paolo Banchero had 17 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the host Magic, and Wendell Carter Jr. added 19 points and seven rebounds. Anthony Black, also off the bench, scored 16 points on 6 of 7 shooting in the the Magic’s first appearance in a play-in game.

Earning the Eastern Conference’s seventh seed after a 41-41 regular season, the Magic will play in a first-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics starting on Sunday at Boston.

Trae Young led the Hawks with 28 points and six assists before getting two technical fouls and an automatic ejection with 4:47 left in the game.

The Hawks, who have reached the playoffs through the play-in route in two of the last three seasons, will play at home Friday for the eighth spot against the winner of tonight’s game at Chicago between the Bulls and Heat.

Anthony, who averaged 9.4 points in an injury-plagued season, made 4 of 9 3-pointers.

Lillard’s return still unknown >> The Milwaukee Bucks said Damian Lillard has made “significant improvement” in his recovery from deep vein thrombosis in his right calf, but they haven’t indicated when the seven-time all-NBA guard might start playing again.

The update comes as the Bucks get ready to begin their postseason. Milwaukee, the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, has its first playoff game Saturday at fourth-seeded Indiana.

“Damian’s most recent weekly scan shows that his injury has significantly improved which will enable him to move ahead safely with increased basketball activity,” general manager Jon Horst said in a statement. “Damian’s health remains our No. 1 priority. We have followed strict protocols and will continue to do so. We are pleased with the positive news about Damian’s progress.”

The Bucks said the Oakland native would continue to increase his on-court basketball activity. Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers said after the Bucks’ Tuesday practice that Lillard’s on-court activity has essentially involved shooting and other noncontact work.

Rivers was asked if there’s any possibility Lillard could play in the opening-round series.

“We’re hopeful,” Rivers said. “We’re just following the protocols, so we’ll see. We don’t know yet.”

Lillard last played in a game on March 18. The Bucks announced a week later that Lillard was dealing with deep vein thrombosis, an abnormal clot within a vessel where the congealing of blood blocks the flow through on the way back to the heart.

The 34-year-old Lillard finished the regular season ranked 10th in scoring (24.9) and 10th in assists (7.1). He earned his ninth All-Star Game selection this year.

The Bucks have dealt with injuries to key players every postseason since winning the NBA title in 2021.

Khris Middleton missed an entire seven-game Eastern Conference semifinal loss to Boston in 2022 with a sprained medial collateral ligament. Giannis Antetokounmpo bruised his lower back in Milwaukee’s first playoff game in 2023 and didn’t return until Game 4 of a first-round series it lost 4-1 to the Miami Heat. In the Bucks’ 4-2 first-round loss to Indiana last year, Antetokounmpo didn’t play at all because of a calf strain and Lillard missed two games with an Achilles injury.