The Orlando Magic played
Magic squander lead, finish 0-4 vs. Hornets in frustrating season
competitively Wednesday, but fell 109-102 to the Charlotte Hornets.
For three quarters Wednesday night, the Orlando Magic accomplished almost everything they wanted to do against a foe that has bedeviled them all season, the Charlotte Hornets.
The Magic slowed All-Star point guard Kemba Walker, stymied swingman Nicolas Batum and limited the Hornets’ longrange shooting. And, then, everything changed. Walker regained his form. Hornets big man Frank Kaminsky performed like an All-Star. And the Magic’s offense suddenly lost its ability to knock down shots. The Magic let a six-point lead early in the fourth quarter slip away and lost to the Hornets 109-102 at Amway Center.
The Magic lost all four of their games this season against the Hornets.
“It hurts, man,” Magic swingman Evan Fournier said. “[To go] 0-4 against that team is really painful. We had control of the game pretty much for like 40 minutes. We never got over the hump, and it feels like they stole the game.”
Kaminsky and Walker stole the game, to be more precise.
In the fourth quarter alone, Kaminsky scored 13 points, and Walker added eight points and three assists.
The Magic placed so much emphasis on slowing Walker’s forays into the paint and containing Batum that it created opportunities for Kaminsky, who typically struggles to sink 3-point shots.
And while Kaminsky and Walker thrived late, the Magic’s offense disappeared almost completely. The Magic made only seven of their 22 shot attempts in the fourth quarter. All game long, the Hornets defended their paint ferociously and were perfectly happy if the Magic hoisted 3-pointers.
“You bounce the ball one time, and they’ve got five guys in the paint,” Magic coach Frank Vogel said. “They take that away and make you beat them over the top. I thought our guys came out and shot the ball with confidence for most of the night. We got cold late when it mattered.”
No team has given the Magic (26-46) more fits lately than the Hornets (32-39).
The Hornets outscored the Magic by an average of 26.7 points per game in the teams’ first three meetings this season.
Wednesday also felt like torture to Orlando players — but for a different reason.
They came so close to finally eking out a win over Charlotte, only to see their chances evaporate down the stretch.
The Magic simply cannot rely on their offense. They had made 50.0 percent of their shots over the game’s first three quarters, but they drained only 31.8 percent of their attempts during the final stanza.
“We missed a couple of shots that we usually make,” point guard Elfrid Payton said. “A couple of times, I think we might have over-penetrated a little bit. But for the most part, we got some good looks. We’ve just got to knock ’em down at the end of the day.”
The Hornets needed a win to gain ground in the Eastern Conference playoff race. They now sit three games behind the eighthplace Miami Heat.
The loss snapped the Magic’s modest winning streak at two games.
They also saw their frustrations against the Hornets continue.
“It’s very painful, very disappointing,” Vogel said. “You never want to lose to a team four times in a season. You just don’t.”