The Orlando Magic lost 120-105 against the Charlotte Hornets Friday night in the Kia Center for Orlando’s second-straight loss. LaMelo Ball led the way for the Hornets with 22, while Anthony Black led the game with 24.
“Charlotte came in here and kicked our ass; there’s no other way to put it,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said.
Charlotte had seven players with multiple three-point makes, while Orlando only had three players with the same mark. Overall, the Hornets had 19 made threes, the most the Magic have given up in a game all season. Star rookie Kon Knueppel had four of those makes before he left with an ankle injury.
Orlando had the game tied at 21 midway through the first quarter, but never came close to recapturing the lead after that. The Magic were outscored by 10 in the first quarter and again in the third quarter. Despite winning the even quarters, they did not start either half strong enough.
“I think this has been going on for a couple of games with the loose balls and just teams just out-toughen us,” Black said. “I just think we got to figure out a way to look in the mirror and get tougher. Play harder, for sure.”
The Magic gave up 16 offensive rebounds and allowed 25 second-chance points in the game. In four of their last five games, Orlando has given up 10+ offensive rebounds to their opponent.
“Those are effort categories,” Mosley said. “They wanted the ball more, they got the ball, and when they got the ball on the second chance, they knocked shots down. It’s deflating when you get the initial stop, but you don’t finish the possession, and that’s what they did. Give them a ton of credit.”
In Paolo Banchero’s ninth game back from injury, the young star struggled, shooting 31% from the field with 13 points. Since returning from injury, Banchero has yet to record a game with a field goal percentage higher than 50%.
“I’ll probably just say finding him some easier looks,” Black said when asked about how to help Banchero. “He’s one of the best young players in the league, so teams’ whole game plan is to stop him, so it’s tough. You’re trying to create all your own points. So I think we got to do a better job getting him the easy looks, get him to the free throw line, get him in transition. And I think you just got to keep playing with confidence. You know, we all got confidence in him, you know, we know who he is.”
Despite the loss, Black turned in another good performance for the team with 24 points, 2 steals and a block. In his last five games as a starter, Black is averaging 21.4 points per game.
“Tt’s a lot of opportunities, a lot of guys out, so I’m just being confident in my work stepping in my shots and my teammates are finding when I’m open,” Black said.
Next up:
The Magic face the Denver Nuggets on the second night of a back-to-back Saturday in Orlando. The Nuggets beat the Magic on their five-game roadtrip earlier this month, and Nikola Jokić is coming off a 56-point triple-double against the Timberwolves on Christmas.
“The loss stinks and the fashion in which we lost because it wasn’t our brand of basketball,” Mosley said. ” But that is the beauty of the NBA, that you get a chance to figure it out again tomorrow against a great basketball team.”
Tip-off against the Nuggets is set for 7:00 p.m. on Dec. 26.