NBA

Charlotte Hornets at Orlando Magic

· National Basketball Association
13-39, 4-19 Away
Final
86 - 102

27-29, 17-10 Home

Paolo Banchero has 24 points and 8 rebounds as Orlando beats injury-riddled Charlotte 102-86

KCP, Nick Smith Jr. ejected in final seconds of 1st half

Franz Wagner added 16 points and seven rebounds and Anthony Black came off the bench to score 18 points.

Miles Bridges led the injury-plagued Hornets with 19 points and eight rebounds. Josh Green and Damion Baugh added 16 points each for Charlotte, which shot 39.5% for the game and lost its third game in a row.

The Magic's Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and the Hornets' Nick Smith Jr. were ejected in the final seconds of the first half after an on-court verbal confrontation.

Takeaways Hornets: With LaMelo Ball (sore right ankle ) and center Moussa Diabate (right eye abrasion) added to their long list of injuries, the Hornets go into the All-Star break having lost nine of 10.

Magic: Jalen Suggs, who missed his ninth straight game with a left quad contusion and his 19th game since Jan. 3, is expected to return after the All-Star break. Wednesday's win was only Orlando's fifth in 19 games without Suggs, dropping the Magic from fourth to ninth in the conference.

Key moment With Cole Anthony and Banchero hitting two 3-pointers each, the Magic broke away from a 55-55 tie to a 12-point lead in the final six minutes of the third quarter, and led by double digits throughout the fourth.

Key stat The NBA's poorest 3-point shooting team, the Magic made only 5 of 21 (23%) in the first half, then came back with 9 for 22 (41%) in the second half.

Up next Hornets: Play at Los Angles Lakers on Feb. 19.

Magic: Play at Atlanta on Feb. 20.

Regular Season Series

ORL leads series 3-0

Recent Plays

4th 0.0 End of Game 86 - 102
4th 0.0 End of the 4th Quarter 86 - 102
4th 8.0 shot clock turnover 86 - 102
4th 32.0 Taj Gibson makes 5-foot two point shot (Elfrid Payton assists) 86 - 102
4th 43.1 Damion Baugh defensive rebound 84 - 102

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/cha.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originCHA https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/orl.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originORL
32-81 FG 37-90
40 Field Goal % 41
8-26 3PT 14-43
31 Three Point % 33
14-15 FT 14-19
93 Free Throw % 74
43 Rebounds 52
6 Offensive Rebounds 13
37 Defensive Rebounds 39
21 Assists 22
4 Steals 4
4 Blocks 9
12 Turnovers 8
0 Team Turnovers 3
12 Total Turnovers 11
2 Technical Fouls 2
2 Total Technical Fouls 2
0 Flagrant Fouls 0
15 Points Conceded Off Turnovers 6
21 Fast Break Points 14
40 Points in Paint 34
15 Fouls 12
5 Largest Lead 21
Orlando Magic Orlando Magic Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Goga Bitadze, C Day-To-Day Dec 25
Tristan da Silva, F Out Dec 25
Moritz Wagner, F Out Dec 25
Franz Wagner, F Out Dec 25
Jalen Suggs, G Out Dec 25
Charlotte Hornets Charlotte Hornets Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Mason Plumlee, C Out Dec 25
Ryan Kalkbrenner, C Out Dec 25
Grant Williams, F Out Dec 13

Game Information

Kia Center

Location: Orlando, FL
Attendance: 18,947 · Capacity:

2025-26 Southeast Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Orlando 17 13 .567 - W1
Miami 15 15 .500 2 L3
Atlanta 15 16 .484 2.5 L4
Charlotte 10 20 .333 7 W1
Washington 5 23 .179 11 L2
Full Standings

NBA News

Sources: Mavs' Davis has minor groin strain, out a few games

Sources: Mavs' Davis has minor groin strain, out a few games

Mavericks star Anthony Davis has sustained a minor groin strain and is likely to miss a few games, sources told ESPN's Shams Charania.

Fantasy basketball picks, DFS and betting tips for Friday's NBA games

Fantasy basketball picks, DFS and betting tips for Friday's NBA games

Eric Moody breaks down Friday's NBA games and offers his top fantasy streamers as well as his favorite bets and DFS plays.

NBA buzz: Latest updates, trades, intel ahead of Feb. 5 deadline

NBA buzz: Latest updates, trades, intel ahead of Feb. 5 deadline

Catch up on the latest buzz, trade alerts and league intel from our ESPN NBA insiders.

Perk: LeBron, Lakers relationship has run its course

Perk: LeBron, Lakers relationship has run its course

Kendrick Perkins explains why he thinks LeBron James isn't feeling the Lakers' situation anymore.