Orlando Magic’s formula remains imperfect, but enough against Charlotte Hornets

The Orlando Magic are starting to feel like a broken record in late games. But they made progress in holding off the Charlotte Hornets.

It is the same refrain over and over again.

For three quarters, the Orlando Magic played lock down defense on the Charlotte Hornets and did pretty much what they wanted offensively. The Hornets could not score consistently and were met with fierce resistance in the paint. The team’s rotations were solid and they scrambled well to contest jump shots. On offense, they worked the ball inside to Nikola Vucevic, got the ball inside the paint and dished it back out to the perimeter.

This is how the Magic offense is supposed to work. Orlando had a 10-point lead at halftime, led by 13 entering the fourth quarter and was up by as much as 15 points in the game. It was a start-to-finish lead and the Magic were able to get a 102-94 win over the Hornets at Time Warner Cable Arena on Saturday.

It was not without its moments of concern and worry.

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Swarm and Sting

Kemba Walker went off for 42 points, most in the second half. The Magic were able to match in most instances. When the Hornets made a run, Jacque Vaughn called a timeout and got his team to calm down some, usually running a solid play out of timeouts and getting good looks. The Hornets to within five and the Magic seemed to wake up from their cold snap, get the ball into the paint through an Elfrid Payton pick and roll and dish it back out to Tobias Harris for a 3-pointer to make it a more comfortable eight-point lead.

Wins do not have to be pretty. They just have to be wins. They all count the same at the end of the day.

That is one message to take. But after a few games where the Magic seemed to crumble down the stretch — including a game where the team gave up a 27-point lead in the fourth quarter and had to scramble for a win — there was an intense focus with how the Magic would play late in the game and close things out.

Maybe, putting more focus on these late game situations only highlights the struggles and weaknesses the team has had. Maybe it does not allow us to see how the team has progressed.

On the one hand, the Magic offense completely fell apart again, it seemed. The team was trying to force matchup advantages and let the ball get stuck as time ticked away, forcing quick shots with little ball movement. The Hornets defense deserves credit for increasing the pressure and intensity and clogging the paint, forcing the Magic out to the perimeter. Orlando shot 35 percent in the final quarter.

Yet, the lead never got too close and the Magic had enough stops in them throughout the game to make up for their shaky fourth quarter play.

Kemba Walker was the only offense the Hornets had the entire second half. He ended up with 16 of the Hornets’ 26 points in the fourth quarter. He shot 5 for 13 in the quarter and Charlotte was 8 for 20 in the fourth quarter. The Magic, except for some switching on Walker and their failure to contain him throughout the game, did a good job scrambling to contest shots and close off driving lanes to force difficult shots in the lane.

At the very least, the Magic’s defense seemed to straighten itself out and cement the win. The offense still needs to return to being the same offense from earlier in the game rather than a pressing, matchup-specific offense.

Orlando still seemed a bit frazzled as Charlotte went into a desperate pressing defense to try to force turnovers and extend the game. Giving the Hornets any chance at winning the game.

The Magic can at least feel comfortable they did enough. Sometimes that is all you need to do. Maybe that is the most important lesson to come out of this game for the Magic as they learn to close out and win these types of games.