Magic Grab First Win of Season in Blowout vs. Hornets
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ORLANDO - The Orlando Magic (1-5) is sending the fans home happy after a 113-93 win at the Amway Center Friday night against the Charlotte Hornets (2-3).
The Magic held pretty even with the Hornets in the fourth quarter, but when Charlotte fell into a shooting slump, Orlando hit the gas running.
In the final four minutes of the first half, Charlotte went scoreless while Orlando pounced on a 12-0 run to turn the game from an 8-point lead to a 20-point blowout at halftime. The crowd was as loud as it has been at the Amway Center all season long.
"I really believe that our fans willed us through that one," coach Jamahl Mosley said. "The energy in the building was fantastic, and I think our guys feed off of that."
From there, Orlando and Charlotte went through the motions to end in the Magic's first win of the young season.
Leading the way for Orlando was No. 1 overall pick Paolo Banchero, who scored 21 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and dished out seven assists. Banchero is just the third No. 1 overall pick in NBA history to score 20 or more points in each of his first six games, joining Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain (56) and Oscar Robertson (6) on the list.
"Not to sound full of myself or anything, but this is just what I expect out of myself," Banchero said. "What I'm doing is what I expect to be doing."
After falling asleep on the road trip, the offense seemed to wake up Friday night. The home crowd could have played a part in that, but ultimately the players have to make shots. And by shooting 49 percent from the field tonight, Orlando certainly made that happen.
The Magic is back in action Sunday night when it faces Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
You can follow Jeremy Brener on Twitter @JeremyBrener.
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