Charlotte Hornets snap their skid, beat the Orlando Magic
The Charlotte Hornets snapped their eight game losing streak on Monday night, defeating the Orlando Magic by a final score of 112-105.
Mason Plumlee carried the Hornets with 18 points, while Franz Wagner led the Magic with 23 points.
With the win, Charlotte now sits at 4-11 through the first 15 games of the season.
What went right for the Charlotte Hornets?
The Hornets forced the Magic into turnovers
Charlotte forced Orlando into 22 turnovers, the most by any Hornets opponent this season. Bol Bol had six turnovers of his own, tying Damian Lillard for the most by any player against Charlotte this year. Meanwhile, Jalen Suggs had five turnovers, tied for the third-most by any player against Charlotte this year.
Balanced scoring effort
The Hornets had seven players reach double figures in scoring. In addition to Mason Plumlee’s team-high 18 points, the Hornets also received double digit points from LaMelo Ball (17), Terry Rozier (17), Kelly Oubre Jr. (16), P.J. Washington (14), Théo Maledon (14), and Jalen McDaniels (10).
What went wrong for the Charlotte Hornets?
Closing games remains an issue
Despite holding on for the win, the Hornets allowed the Magic to stay too close for comfort until the final buzzer. Charlotte was outscored by a 36-28 margin in the final period.
After the Hornets went up by 15 points with 3:09 remaining, the Magic went on a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to seven with 1:39 to go. While Orlando was unable to get any closer from that point on, Charlotte will need to continue focusing on execution late in games.
Three-point shooting needs to improve
The Hornets shot just 20% from three-point range, knocking down only seven of their 35 attempts from beyond the arc. The 20% three-point shooting was Charlotte’s second worst on the season and the seven made three-point shots is now tied for Charlotte’s second fewest in a game this year.
What is next for the Charlotte Hornets?
Wednesday, November 16th- vs. Indiana Pacers (7:00 p.m. ET)