Orlando Magic Grades: Charlotte Hornets 117, Orlando Magic 103
The Charlotte Hornets reserves outplayed the Orlando Magic starters, and only a couple Magic players really seemed to show up for the occasion in a season finale loss.
103. 38. Final. 117. 170
Despite being thoroughly outplayed by the Charlotte Hornets, there were a few Magic players to have standout games in this one. Reading too much into it proves futile, but Evan Fournier, Nikola Vucevic and Aaron Gordon all turned in solid games.
The trio shot 25 for 44 from the floor while combining for 61 points. The rest of the Magic, however, shot just 36 percent from the field. And the defensive intensity seemed to be nil at points.
The Hornets played 13 players 10 minutes or more, just kind of giving everyone a chance to get one kick in on the Magic before their trip to the Playoffs.
Orlando held it together throughout the final leg of the season while the games lacked actual meaning, but it seems that effort could not extend quite into this final game.
<p>Nikola Vucevic had a solid offensive game in hitting 8 of 13 from the field for 17 points, but it was a very quiet 17 and it really did not appear as though he should have necessarily been on the court. Vucevic had just four rebounds in the game and the Hornets bigs had their way with him.</p><p>Spencer Hawes had 12 points and Al Jefferson had 26, but neither big man had to work for the buckets. Combined they were 16 for 21 from the field and were able to get just about any look they wanted. Hawes knocked down a couple threes while Jefferson did most of his damage on the block, but it is hard to look at Vucevic’s 17 points as mattering all that much given the sheer lack of defensive intensity.</p>. C. Orlando Magic. NIKOLA VUCEVIC. C-
B. <p>Evan Fournier was really the only one who showed up to play for the Magic. He was aggressive for most of the game, and he played decent individual defense, though it would be hard to notice with so many of his teammates lacking much energy.</p><p>Fournier shot 8 for 14 from the field and 4 for 5 from 3-point range <em>en route</em> to 22 points and three assists in 34 minutes of play.</p><p>Fournier finished the first quarter with eight points, but Orlando was already trailing by 16 points after one. Fournier was active and playing well when Orlando made its run to cut the lead to seven in the third quarter, but really he just did not get enough help from his teammates. Fournier also did a solid job defensively on both Courtney Lee and Jeremy Lin. Finding fault for this loss begins outside of the Frenchman.</p>. G/F. Orlando Magic. EVAN FOURNIER
B+. <p>Aaron Gordon came back from injury (concussion) to have a strong game off the Magic bench. He shot 9 for 17 from the field and played with a lot of intensity on a night lacking such from both teams really.</p><p>Gordon finished the game with 22 points and five rebounds in just 24 minutes of play.</p><p>The Hornets broadcast team was highly entertained by his play, and lavished a lot of high compliments on the Magic’s up and comer. Gordon also came up with three block/steals in the game, and he did his point-forward thing a little.</p><p>Perhaps that is one of the most exciting facets of Gordon’s game. It was a good season for the Magic’s youngster and the hope is that he can build on this year and become a legitimate star in his third pro season.</p>. PF. Orlando Magic. AARON GORDON
6th East. CHARLOTTE HORNETS. A. <p>The Charlotte Hornets really needed a win in this for postseason seeding implications, but head coach Steve Clifford figured he could get it with his bench.</p><p>The Hornets’ eight reserves (all of whom saw 10 minutes or more in the game) scored 81 points and easily outplayed Orlando’s first unit most of the way. Scott Skiles took efforts to rest Vucevic in this one, but the Hornets bigs were having a feast inside, particularly Al Jefferson.</p><p>If the Hornets can dig into its bench this way in the postseason, they might be a tough out. Then again, in the playoffs rotations shorten, so this really may have been the last big chance at minutes for a number of Hornets players.</p><p>The Hornets looked really good in this game, but it is tough to say that it is a performance that can be read too much into. Charlotte simply did what it needed to get a victory in this one, and the Hornets found a way to get big minutes for guys like Aaron Harrison, Troy Daniels and Jorge Gutierrez.</p>. 48-34