What the Magic Said After Beating the Hornets 111-104

The Orlando Magic staved off an upset-minded Charlotte Hornets team Tuesday night, scoring the final seven points of the game to win 111-104.

Recap: Magic fend off lowly Hornets late for third straight victory

After the game, Magic coach Jamahl Mosley, guard Anthony Black and forward Paolo Banchero met reporters to discuss the result.

Here is a partial transcript of what each player said with video to accompany it.

Jamahl Mosley

On the contributions of Gary Harris...

"Gary (Harris) was big-time, and the craziest part about it, he was not feeling well right before the game. That just tells you the care he has for this team to want to do the right thing in those moments ... I mean, those are the little things that don't always get noticed, but he did a heck of a job tonight for us."

On the defensive effort to win late...

"I think the ability to come back, one, in that third quarter, then the ability to sustain that effort defensively more than anything. The 21-point fourth quarter down the stretch, holding them without scoring, I think, is big for this group and just shows the toughness, the resiliency and fight that they continue to have no matter what's going on in a game."

Anthony Black

On Gary Harris' defense...

"His defense is something that you probably wouldn't know unless you looked into it, but he's one of our best guard defenders. His activity, he picks up the ball full-court, gets clutch rebounds, and obviously he's a knockdown shooter. All those things are huge to us, and then he's just a really good veteran leader. It's just good for us on the court."

On Paolo Banchero's recent stretch of play...

"Super impressive. Some of the shots he's able to make out there and some of the moves he's able to do at his size, it's just unheard of. He just has a crazy blend of strength and skill, so I think it makes it extremely hard to guard him without fouling him or giving him an open shot, which is two bad ideas, so. Four 30-balls in a row leading to wins, and he's making his teammates better, too, so that's a special player."

Paolo Banchero

On holding the Hornets scoreless over the final two minutes of the game...

"I give all the credit to the guards. AB, Gary, they were applying tremendous ball pressure in the fourth quarter. (LaMelo Ball), he started to make some shots, and they did a great job of not letting him get comfortable, even though he was making some tough shots. Just kept applying the same amount of pressure and eventually started to turn them over and it kind of flipped the game."

On Orlando's bench...

"It's just a huge boost. We knew this was not going to be an easy game despite their record and what they've done this season. I feel like every year I've been in the NBA, we come to Charlotte at some point in March and it's always a tough game. Last year, we came here around the same time and we lost, so we knew that it wasn't going to be easy no matter who was out there. So, it just was a huge team effort to come here after a big win at home last night and get this win on a back-to-back."

On his recent play...

"I'm just feeling good. I'm feeling a lot better physically, I'm in shape. I can run a lot faster, a lot longer, not getting tired as quick. So, it's just helping the rest of my game. When I have wind and I'm not tired, I can do anything. Just trying to play confident, make the right plays and be aggressive when I need to and, yeah, I mean, I'm playing some good basketball right now. Just want to keep it up."

Up Next

The Magic begin a three-game homestand Thursday, March 27 when the Dallas Mavericks visit the Kia Center at 7 p.m. ET on NBA TV.

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