Orlando, FL – Orlando continues their hot streak as they took down the Charlotte Hornets tonight for their seventh consecutive win in a row 130-117.
Charlotte came out in the first period and had their way with the Magic who appeared a bit sluggish to begin the game. The Hornets were pushing the ball in transition, hitting their midrange jumpers, and they were moving the ball exceptionally well.
LaMelo Ball and Gordon Hayward hit back-to-back threes early and it helped ignite a 33-25 lead for the Hornets after one. LaMelo only appeared in 15 minutes of action after he suffered an injury in that first half before being ruled out for the remainder of the game.
Franz Wagner, who was scoreless and didn’t attempt a single shot attempt in that first quarter came to life in the second quarter for the Magic. Franz was a lot more aggressive getting to the line early on, his brother Mo Wagner hit Franz on a cut to the basket that led to an easy dunk, and he closed it out with a nice three-pointer on the right wing. Franz scored 12 points in that second quarter and the Magic went into the halftime locker room up 61-57.
Orlando continued to assert their dominance and maintain control of the game for the entirety of the second half. In the third, you had great contributions from the team as a whole Franz scored another 11 points in that quarter alone. Paolo Banchero had a tough layup over Brandon Miller and Mo Wagner hit a nice corner three as both of them chipped in seven points in the period.
The Magic closed the deal and took control of the game in the fourth which was led by Cole Anthony. Cole deep three on the left wing on a skip pass from Gary Harris, and he followed that up with a big-time crossover and finish over Brandon Miller plus the foul. Jalen Suggs helped close the win out as well with a big corner three from Cole, he stripped the ball from Miles Bridges and had a nice finish at the rim over P.J. Washington.
After the game Head Coach of the Orlando Magic Jamahl Mosley was asked about how the team adjusted after Charlotte’s hot start to begin the game and he stated, “Well, I think, our shot quality, I think the timing of our shots, as well as taking care of the basketball. We stopped turning it over, and then taking a quick one-pass, no-pass shot. We were able to get back in transition, it was a team that looked to get out and run. So we were able to balance the floor offensively, moving the ball side-to-side knowing the shots are coming. Then we were able to crash and get back.”
Cole Anthony and Franz Wagner each had a team-high 30 points, and this seven-game win streak for the Magic is the longest since 2010-11. Orlando has now improved to 12-5 on the season and will be looking forward to hosting the Washington Wizards on Wednesday evening here at the Amway Center.
