The Charlotte Hornets buckled down and made all the plays in the fourth quarter to pull away from the Orlando Magic and halt the Magic’s meager win streak.
The Orlando Magic have been unable to match up with the Charlotte Hornets all season. Finally able to keep the game close against their division nemesis, the Magic were in control and just needed to close out.
Those match up problems reared their heads again. Charlotte went big this time and was able to get the advantage against Aaron Gordon and the smallish frontcourt.
Frank Kaminsky scored 13 of his 18 points in the third quarter, including a critical eight-point run to give the Hornets the lead and put them up by six points. That was enough as Kemba Walker and Nicolas Batum helped carry Charlotte the rest of the way in a 109-102 win at Amway Center.
The Magic could not close the game out, finding a wall of Hornets defenders cutting off the offense that seemed to be humming along so well. The Hornets outscored the Magic 32-20 in the final quarter, making 11 of 20 shots and 4 of 17 3-pointers.
Both teams seemed happy to shoot 3-pointers throughout the evening. Orlando attempted 40 3-pointers in all, making 14 of them. That kept the Magic in the game and largely in control. But the shooting eventually ran out.
Charlotte scored 50 points in the paint for the game, making up the deficit from the Magic’s 3-point barrage throughout the game.
The Hornets turned things up in the fourth quarter, making 55.0 percent of their shots and 4 for 7 from beyond the arc. The defense walled off the paint the Magic were able to get into pretty easily and closed down passing lanes. The shots the Magic seemed to get so easily were no longer there.
It became difficult for the Magic to operate much offensively. And when the game tightened up, the Magic could no longer get the shots they needed to succeed. Terrence Ross missed his only shot in the quarter and the Magic were stuck once again against the Hornets.