Charlotte @ Orlando preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 31, 2018 ) Orlando 100, Charlotte 125

The Orlando Magic are suddenly a hot squad but the real test occurs Thursday when they host the Charlotte Hornets. Orlando has dropped 13 straight games against Charlotte and were whipped by 32 and 25 points earlier this season.

The Magic enter with confidence after posting a season-best four straight wins, including a 3-0 road trip in which it beat Milwaukee, Atlanta and New Orleans by an average of 22 points. "You want to go into the (All-Star) break with confidence, and we're doing a pretty good job of that," Orlando shooting guard Evan Fournier told reporters. "Now we have one game remaining against a team that's given us trouble in the past. It's going to be interesting to see how we respond to that." Charlotte has dropped three of its past four games and shot a season-low 32.2 percent from the field in Monday's 99-90 road loss against the Indiana Pacers. "We just went dry," Hornets coach James Borrego said afterward. "We win the boards, only turn it over seven times, but we have our worst shooting night of the season. On the road, you have to make shots."

TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS Southeast (Charlotte), FS Florida (Orlando)

ABOUT THE HORNETS (27-29): Point guard Kemba Walker will be starting in the All-Star Game in front of the home fans in Charlotte on Sunday and he is on a roll as the break approaches. The three-time All-Star scored 34 points against the Pacers for his fifth straight 30-point outing, matching the franchise mark set by Glen Rice in 1997. Walker, who averages 25.2 points, is set to become a free agent after the season and the trading deadline passed without him being moved, and he has expressed numerous times that he would like to remain with the Hornets.

ABOUT THE MAGIC (25-32): The recent stretch of strong play that includes six wins in the past seven games has given Orlando hope that it can make a run at a playoff spot. "This has been our best stretch of the season and hopefully we can keep it up because we all feel the momentum," All-Star center Nikola Vucevic told reporters. "We have to stick with what we've been doing. We've had stretches where we've played great and stretches where we haven't played so well, and we know that things can turn around quickly in this league and we have to stay focused." Vucevic had 25 points and 17 rebounds in Tuesday's 118-88 road win over New Orleans and has 12 double-doubles in the past 15 games and 40 overall.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Hornets have prevailed in 11 of their last 13 visits to Orlando.

2. Orlando F Jonathan Isaac scored a career-best 20 points against New Orleans and is averaging 18 points over the past three games.

3. Charlotte backup PG Tony Parker (back) will likely miss his fourth straight game.

PREDICTION: Magic 113, Hornets 106