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Thursday, Mar. 8 7:30pm ET
Davis leads Charlotte with 23 points, nine assists

RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – Baron Davis knew someone had to make up for the absence of Jamal Mashburn and his 20 points per game.

P.J. Brown
P.J. Brown and the Hornets knock around John Amaechi and the Magic.

With Charlotte's leading scorer sidelined with a bruised sternum, Davis had 23 points and nine assists as the Hornets beat the Orlando Magic 97-84 Thursday night.

"I was looking to be a little more aggressive," Davis said after scoring nine points more than his average. "I knew that collectively we all were going to have to step up and score the ball because Mash was out."

Davis hit 4-of-5 3-pointers and pulled down five rebounds in his 13th game of scoring 20 or more points. But Davis was most pleased with the way the Hornets ran their offense.

"Tonight we did a good job of moving the basketball," Davis said. "We had 26 assists, which is what we want to accomplish each game."

David Wesley added 18 points and 10 assists and Elden Campbell shook off a sore right shoulder and left knee to finish with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Eddie Robinson, who started in place of Mashburn, had 12 points and eight rebounds as the Hornets won for the eighth time in the past nine games.

"It was a team effort tonight," Hornets coach Paul Silas said after his club bounced back from Tuesday's loss to Minnesota where Mashburn was injured. "You have to find a way to win no matter who you have, and that's what we did.

Tracy McGrady had 19 points, while Darrell Armstrong had 16 and Mike Miller 15 for the Magic, who failed to move ahead of the Hornets into fifth place in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Charlotte took the lead for good in the second minute of the game, but never shook the Magic until Davis hit a 3-pointer with 4:49 remaining to give the Hornets an 88-74 edge.

Orlando shot just 37 percent for the game and committed 18 turnovers one night after a home win against Detroit.

"I tried every lineup I could think of, every defense, and tried trapping, but some nights you just don't have it," Magic coach Doc Rivers said. "I thought we may have been a little tired after last night."

Charlotte led by as many as 11 in the first quarter before settling for a 29-20 lead at the end of the period. Davis hit 5-of-7 shots, including two dunks off steals.

"They got off to a good start and that was the difference," Armstrong said.

The Hornets started the second quarter on an 11-2 run to go up 40-22, but the Magic slowly cut into the lead, pulling to 56-45 at halftime on a 3-pointer from Miller at the buzzer.

Davis hit a 3-pointer in an 11-0 run as Charlotte took a 20-point lead midway through the third quarter. The Magic responded with a 13-2 spurt to get back in it. Charlotte led 75-62 after three quarters.

"They came out with a high intensity and caught us playing terribly," McGrady said.

Game notes
Silas hopes Mashburn will be able to play Saturday against Central Division-leading Milwaukee. "We're keeping our fingers crossed, but he's very sore," Silas said. "He really can't lift his left arm right now." ... Some members of the Milwaukee Bucks, including coach George Karl, were at the game. The Bucks flew directly to Charlotte after their game in Boston on Wednesday. ... The Magic have lost six of its past eight games in Charlotte.

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RECAPS
Charlotte 97
Orlando 84

San Antonio 93
Portland 79

Houston 99
LA Clippers 87


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