The Sports Xchange
Oct 29, 2017
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Kemba Walker scored a season-high 34 points, Dwight Howard added 22, and the Charlotte Hornets cooled off the Orlando Magic with a 120-113 victory on Sunday evening at the Spectrum Center.
Walker also contributed 10 assists and six rebounds. He was 15 of 25 from the field with two 3-pointers on a night when the Hornets shot 54.1 percent on field-goal attempts.
The Hornets led by as many as 15 points in the first half and 16 in the third quarter before the Magic got as close as three briefly in the fourth quarter. Orlando struggled from the field, finishing at 42.3 percent.
The Magic (4-2) had a three-game winning streak snapped. They were coming off a 114-87 home win over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night, when they shot 57.1 percent from the floor.
The Hornets also got 20 points from Jeremy Lamb, 13 points and 11 rebounds from Marvin Williams, and 10 points from Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Howard grabbed 10 rebounds.
Charlotte (3-3) was coming off a 109-93 home loss to the Houston Rockets on Friday night.
Jonathon Simmons led the Magic with 27 points off the bench. Evan Fournier scored 23 points, Aaron Gordon and Terrence Ross scored 17 points each, and Nikola Vucevic had 15 points and 11 rebounds.
The Hornets led 27-24 after one quarter, 61-49 at halftime and 93-86 after three quarters.
NOTES: The Hornets got C Cody Zeller back after he missed the first five games with a right knee bone bruise. However, they were without G Nic Batum (sprained left elbow), G Michael Carter-Williams (knee soreness), G Julyan Stone (strained left hamstring) and F Frank Kaminsky (illness). ... The Magic were without G Elfrid Payton (strained left hamstring), F Jonathan Isaac (illness) and F Adreian Payne (fractured left hand). ... The Hornets transferred C Mangok Mathiang to the G League with the return of Zeller. Mathiang had appeared in just one game. ... Hornets C Dwight Howard came into the game leading the NBA in rebounding at 17.6. However, his streak of five straight games with at least 15 rebounds ended. ... The Hornets play at Memphis on Monday in their first set of back-to-backs this season. ... The Magic play at New Orleans on Monday.