Paolo Banchero on the second night of a back-to-back, showed up and showed out scoring 32 points to lead the Orlando Magic for a 111-104 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday night.
The former NBA Rookie of the Year and Duke standout was one of four Magic players to reach double figures. Franz Wagner added 26 points and Anthony Black contributed 20 points. Banchero’s four consecutive 30-point outings has put Orlando in a better position ahead of the NBA Playoffs.
LaMelo Ball finished with a team-high 25 points on 9-for-13 from the field. The Hornets drop to 18-54 on the season and will look for better odds in the NBA Draft lottery, where everyone is clamoring for Cooper Flagg. It is tough stretch for Charlotte who are currently experiencing five losses in the past six games, including three straight.
Josh Green and Nick Smith Jr. added 13 points each in a losing effort.
The Hornets were hammered on the glass, getting out-rebounded by 12, 50-38, with 13 of those rebounds coming on the offensive end for the Magic. Coach Charles Lee, for the most part, probably liked much of what he saw in all areas of Tuesday’s game, with the exception of the effort on the glass. Big man Mark Williams was the only Hornet to reach double figures in the category with 13. Tidjane Salaun had the second-most with just seven.
“I thought number one, the way they competed for most of the game felt more like us,” Hornets coach Lee said. “I thought on both ends of the court, defensively especially, the togetherness, the activity, the communication for larger portions of the game was there. We talked pregame about feeling like the defense hasn’t been as solid lately, but I felt like the guys were phenomenal tonight on that side of the floor. …Offensively, the ball was moving. I thought they did a really good job of trusting the pass throughout the game – 26 assists on 37 made field goals. It’s ‘Melo [Ball], it’s Miles [Bridges], it’s Nurk [Jusuf Nurkic] in the post kicking out, so that was beautiful to see.”
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Hornets tied the game down the stretch at 104 with just over two minutes remaining before being shut out until the final buzzer. Ball committed a pair of costly turnovers in the final minutes, fueling an 8-0 run for the Magic.
Orlando earned a season sweep over Charlotte after beating the Los Angeles Lakers the night before and have stacked up ten series wins in the past twelve dating back to 2022-23.
The Magic return home to take on Anthony Davis and the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night.
The Hornets will finally get two full days off in between games, with their next matchup coming on Friday against RJ Barrett and the Toronto Raptors on the road. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.
