A hard fought game saw a winning end to Orlando’s preseason, beating the Charlotte Hornets 117-120. The second win for the Magic saw them close preseason with at 2-2.
Last night the Magic took the contest to the Hornets in the Amway Centre.
FIRST QUARTER
Our second game back at the Amway since March and the Magic started off on FIRE!!!
The starting line up led by Nicola Vucevic and Markelle Fultz came out shooting!! The ball movement was great and shots were falling as we raced to a 38-27 lead. We had expected a reaction after Thursday nights loss where defensive standards slipped and the team responded!!
MORE OF THE SAME IN Q2
By halftime the Magic had scored 63 and lead the way by 14 by a score of 63-49.
The reserves came in and gave great effort defensively and hit their shots to keep the Hornets at bay. We had contributions from all of the roster and it was a very good first half.
As a tune up for the regular season which opens on Wednesday against the in state rivals Miami Heat it was great to see!!!
SECOND HALF
At the start of the 3rd Orlando continued to attack and built our lead to 23 points!
However the Charlotte Hornets, who were shooting the ball extremely well from deep too kept doing so. Following a 22-3 run which started at the end of the 3rd a Terry Rozier 3 capped it off. The Hornets now with the lead built it to 101-84 with 8:02 to play!
Orlando responded with a run of its own and managed to again take the lead. The game went back and forth in the fourth. The Hornets had a 117-113 lead with over a minute left. A Devin Cannady three ball, followed up with 4 Cole Anthony points closed the game and gave the Magic the 120-117 win!!
THE BAD AND THE GOOD
The starters were solid and if we have the same output like we did in the first half we will win some games this season.
Other than the end of the 3rd Quarter and beginning of the 4th, there were a lot of positives!
And I like that Coach Clifford stuck with the guys who were on the floor when the Hornets made their run in order to have a chance to make amends; which they did and credit to them!! All in all a solid outing!!
ROOKIE WATCH
Cole Anthony provided another night to have Magic fans feeling we have drafted a talent. He gave us 19 points, 4 assists and 2 rebounds in an aggressive 26 mins, that included all of the fourth quarter and he came up clutch!! Again his shot efficiency and selection was impressive.
Chuma Okeke played with effort. And will be a key rotation piece this season.
NEXT UP
We open the season against the Miami Heat on Wednesday night!! And with a winning end to Orlando’s preseason the team will feel an improved confidence.
We will be previewing this game and more in our next episode of Penny For Your Thoughts.
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