ORLANDO, FL – The Orland Magic lost to the Charlotte Hornets 120-11 after a night of good energy and solid performances. In the waning hours of the 4th quarter, the Boys in blue added to their turnover troubles (19 turnovers leading to 23 Hornets points tonight) to squander a strong performance overall on the night.
The Magic were in contention for most of the night, even leading by 12 points early in the game. Charlotte would battle back with 10-15 point runs to get back into the game, many starting on Orlando errors and turnovers.
Cole Anthony (24) Wendell Carter Jr (20) lead the Magic in scoring. Both players talked about the late 4th quarter pressure being good for the young team. Carter and Mo Bamba both posted 10 rebounds on the night with Bamba adding 14 points in the game.
Franz Wagner continued to show promise for the Magic with 15 points and little difficulty getting his shots, going 5 for 7 from the filed and 3 for 4 from deep, proving again to all doubters that he was a strong draft pick for the Magic.
Mo Bamba continued to be a factor of defense, fighting for balls vs Mason Plumblee of the Hornets for lose balls and rebounds, even diving to the ground for a ball that Wagner drained into the net after getting the deflection from Bamba.
Speaking of defense, the Magic did manage to keep Charlotte’s star guard LaMelo ball at bay, with only 7 points and 3 assists.
“It’s a delicate. balance that they’re in,” Said Orlando Head Coach Jamaal Mosely “Helping them learn having them understanding the situations that they’re going to be in, and knowing what to do in those experiences. But you have to go through those experiences to do that. We did a good job facing a team that was just running, but we also see the areas where we need to clean up.”
Miles Bridges dominated tonight, with 31 points on 11-of 21 shooting, 50% from 3 point range, and 6 rebounds. Gordon Hayward was able to take advantage of Orlando coverage mistakes to make key mid-range shots down the final stretch for 24 points on the night, while Mason Plumblee battled with the Orlando Big men for 14 points and 10 rebounds.
The Magic next game is on the road against to Toronto Raptors on Friday October 29th in Toronto, followed by facing the Detroit Pistons in Detroit the following night. They next hit Minneapolis to face th Timberwolves on Monday November 1st.
They return home on November 3rd to face the Boston Celtics.
