RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- The Hornets beat the Magic at their own
game.
David Wesley scored 30 points and Charlotte hustled to a 17-point fourth-quarter lead before P.J. Brown delivered eight of his 19 points in the final four minutes to hold off Orlando 96-90 Wednesday night.
"We have some speed, too," center Elden Campbell said after the Hornets regrouped after a slow start to shut down the Magic and control the tempo until Orlando rallied in the closing minutes.
"We didn't want to get into a running game with them, and it
got a little hectic out there in the second quarter," said Wesley,
who made 10 of 17 shots. "We realize we need to slow it down and
make sure we get good shots. You don't want to get into that up and
down with Orlando. They run way too well, and that's their game."
But the Hornets picked their spots and built their lead to 81-64
before Darrell Armstrong led a surge that pulled Orlando within
five before Brown ensured Charlotte (4-1) would improve to 3-0 on
the road.
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I don't know about the team, but I was frustrated a little bit. ” |
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— Tracy McGrady, limited to 14 points on 5-for-11 shooting |
"We have a lot of veteran guys. Guys who have been at his for a
while," Wesley said. "There was no reason to panic. We were down
10 or 12 in Jersey. We were down here. But we found ways to just
keep fighting to get back in the game and get two wins."
The Hornets remained unbeaten on the road despite making just
two of 11 shots in the fourth quarter. Brown broke a six-minute
drought from the field with a short jumper and went 6-for-6 from
the foul line down the stretch.
Brown also grabbed 10 rebounds, while Campbell had 10 points and
11 rebounds for Charlotte, which weathered the 14-2 run the Magic
put together to make it close at the end.
Darrell Armstrong led Orlando with 18 points. Reserve Bo Outlaw
had 16 points and 16 rebounds, while Tracy McGrady missed 11 of 16
shots, finishing with 14 points and seven rebounds.
"I don't know about the team, but I was frustrated a little
bit," said McGrady, who was bothered by double-teams that Orlando
couldn't take advantage of because of poor shooting (38 percent).
"I'm the go-to guy and they figure if they get the ball out of
my hands, they've got a chance of beating us. Our guys just missed
shots. I think if we hit the majority of those shots, we win the
game. It was just one of those nights."
Armstrong had nine points in the fourth-quarter spurt that got
the Magic back in the game. But the rally stalled when Brown took
over, taking up the scoring slack for Jamal Mashburn, who was held to seven points on 1-for-10 shooting.
The Hornets trailed 35-26 before finishing the second quarter with a 24-9 run to go up 50-44 at the half. Wesley scored 13 while Charlotte was limiting the Magic to 17 in the third quarter to build the lead to 76-60 going into the final period.
Derrick Coleman saw his first action for the Hornets after sitting out the entire preseason and first four games of the
regular season to adjust to a change in medication for an irregular
heartbeat. He had five points on 2-for-5 shooting and grabbed three
rebounds in 13 minutes.
Game notes
Charlotte's Eldridge Recasner left the game early in the
second quarter with a cut over his left eye that required stitches.
He did not return. ... The Hornets missed their first eight shots
before finishing the opening period with their 24-9 burst. ... The
Magic was 8-of-28 from the field in the fourth quarter. Pat Garrity
went 1-for-9 in the period and 2-for-14 for the game.
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Tracy McGrady follows up his own miss with the two-handed slam.