Field Level Media
Jan 20, 2020
Evan Fournier produced a big second half and finished with 26 points as the Orlando Magic withstood a sluggish start and defeated the host Charlotte Hornets, 106-83, on Monday.
Nikola Vucevic poured in 24 points and Terrence Ross, who carried the team in the first half, ended up with 19 points for the road-weary Magic, who played Saturday night at Golden State and wrapped up a season-long six-game road trip.
Markelle Fultz added 10 points. Vucevic pulled in 10 rebounds.
Fournier shot 10-for-14 from the field, including 6-for-8 on 3-pointers. The Magic were 14-for-28 on 3s as a team, recovering from a rough stretch in that category.
Reserve guard Malik Monk's 20 points, P.J. Washington's 19 points and Devonte' Graham's 15 points led Charlotte, which has lost seven games in a row.
The Hornets, who had four days off since their last game, shot 10-for-33 on 3-pointers. They committed 18 turnovers.
Starting guard Terry Rozier, who has been Charlotte's best scorer the past month, had four points and was 0-for-6 from the field.
It was Charlotte's final game before Friday's matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks in Paris.
Orlando had huge success at the start of the second and fourth quarters. A 10-2 stretch at the outset of the fourth quarter helped build an 82-67 advantage.
Soon after, it was a 91-71 bulge, allowing the Magic to be on the way to completing a 3-3 road trip.
Earlier, the Magic began the second quarter on a 14-1 run. Orlando took a 51-45 edge into halftime.
Ross had 16 points in the first half, hitting 5 of 6 3-point attempts. The rest of the Magic shot 1-for-10 on first-half 3s. Fournier had six points on 3-of-6 shooting in the first half, but hit 7 of 8 shots and scored 20 after intermission.
Graham racked up 12 first-quarter points as the Hornets led 27-19.
It was a successful return to Charlotte for Magic coach Steve Clifford, who's a former Hornets coach. Clifford had questioned the challenging schedule that his team was put through in recent days.
--Field Level Media