 led by eight entering the fourth quarter but quickly stretched the lead to 16 behind back-to-back 3-pointers from Terrence Ross and Gary Clark. The Hornets cut the lead to seven, but Ross hit two more 3s on consecutive possessions to push the lead back to 13. Ross finished with 13 points on four 3s.Orlando shot 16 of 34 from 3-point range; the Hornets were 9 of 31.''We lost at the 3-point line by 21 points and that was the difference,'' Hornets coach James Borrego said. ''We won the paint game and that was encouraging. ... But unfortunately they made seven more 3s than us, which isn't typical for them. They're not typically a big-time 3-point shooting team but they made shots that you have to give them credit for.'' The Magic move the ball well too, finishing with 35 assists.Magic coach Steve Clifford called the ball movement a ''step forward.'' ''I mean it's how we have to play,'' Clifford said. ''It's how we're built. We play traditional NBA basketball, but the ball has got to move. Everybody has to share it equally and when we do, that's when we played our best last year.'' Devonte Graham scored 15 points for the Hornets (16-34) after being held to just two points in the first three quarters. Graham came into the game struggling from the field, making 8 of 23 shots from the floor over his previous three games. He finished 6 of 13 against Orlando.TIP INSMagic: Khem Burch sat out after experiencing lower back soreness before the game. ... Orlando was out-rebounded 46-37.Hornets: Rookie P. J. Washington missed his second straight game with a sprained right ankle.FULTZ STEPS UPFultz's 14 assists were a season high.''He's got great shooters around him,'' Fournier said with a laugh.Fournier called Fultz a ''special talent,'' adding that ''he's a point guard, he's athletic and he's big. He's able to get into small spaces and just find guys around him and we're all aware of that. He's a good passer, so we're always ready for him.'' MARTIN GIVES A SPARKCharlotte's Cody Martin gave his team a needed spark off the bench, scoring a career-high 13 points on 6-of-6 shooting.''For me it is about confidence, and the more I play the more confidence I have,'' Martin said.MO BAMBAThe Magic got 12 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots from Mo Bamba in less than 12 minutes of playing time.''It changes everything,'' Fournier said. ''To be a good team, you need balance and to have balance, you have to have a good bench and they definitely did a good job - even Gary (Clark) who's new. He was locked in today. He had a big shot, so everyone contributed.'' UP NEXTMagic: Travel to face the Celtics on Wednesday night.Hornets: Face the Rockets on the second night of a back-to-back Tuesday in Houston.---More NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Feb 02, 2020These are painful days for the Orlando Magic and Charlotte Hornets.Both teams have had trouble gaining much traction this season, with both enduring recent rough patches.The good thing for one of them is that there's a victory on the horizon because the teams meet Monday night in Charlotte, N. C."These are the steps we have to go through right now," Charlotte coach James Borrego said. "They're painful at times. ... I know there are brighter days ahead." The Hornets have lost 10 of their last 11 games, including two on the road since pulling off Tuesday night's home victory against in the New York Knicks.The Magic are in a five-game losing streak, coming off Saturday night's 102-89 home loss to the Miami Heat."Our second-half defense was really what it needed to be," Orlando coach Steve Clifford said.Orlando has gone four games in a row without reaching the 100-point mark. The last two games came against Miami, with Aaron Gordon joining Nikola Vucevic with a team-high 13 points on Monday before adding 24 on Saturday."We've struggled to make shots," Clifford said. "If we want to be good, guys have to be on top of their individual games. ... Frankly, watching the last four games (before Saturday), we're getting good shots. You have to step up and make shots. To win and to be good, what's more important than shot making?"Perhaps a trip to Charlotte could be the right tonic.Clifford is a former Hornets coach. He brought the Magic to Charlotte last month for a 106-83 victory. That's the last time Orlando won a game.Swingman Evan Fournier had 26 points in that game, but he has led Orlando in scoring in only one of the five games since then.Charlotte dropped a 114-90 decision Saturday night at San Antonio. The Hornets held a 19-point lead before crumbling."It's one of those things we have to go through as a young team," Borrego said. "We have to learn how to close out games." Turnovers became one of the trouble spots for the Hornets."We've got to be stronger and smarter with the ball," Borrego said.The offensive glitches tend to surface at the worst times for the Hornets."The second half we didn't move the ball that much," forward Miles Bridges said. "That was a difference." Bridges had a team-high 25 points in the game. He has been Charlotte's top scorer five times this season, but now in back-to-back games for the first time."I was open most of the time," Bridges said. "I just tried to play post-ups." The Hornets played Saturday without rookie forward P. J. Washington because of an ankle injury suffered two nights earlier. The Hornets used veteran forward Marvin Williams in the starting lineup for the first time this season.Prior to last week, the Hornets lost six consecutive home games. In the last seven home outings, they've failed to score more than 107 points in regulation in any of those.--Field Level Media
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