Magic Grab First Win of Season in Blowout vs. Hornets

The Orlando Magic is no longer winless. No. 1 overall pick Paolo Banchero led the way in a blowout win against the Charlotte Hornets.

Jeremy Brener | Oct 28, 2022

Magic Grab First Win of Season in Blowout vs. Hornets /

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ORLANDO - The Orlando Magic (1-5) is sending the fans home happy after a 113-93 win at the Amway Center Friday night against the Charlotte Hornets (2-3).

The Magic held pretty even with the Hornets in the fourth quarter, but when Charlotte fell into a shooting slump, Orlando hit the gas running.

In the final four minutes of the first half, Charlotte went scoreless while Orlando pounced on a 12-0 run to turn the game from an 8-point lead to a 20-point blowout at halftime. The crowd was as loud as it has been at the Amway Center all season long.

"I really believe that our fans willed us through that one," coach Jamahl Mosley said. "The energy in the building was fantastic, and I think our guys feed off of that."

From there, Orlando and Charlotte went through the motions to end in the Magic's first win of the young season.

Leading the way for Orlando was No. 1 overall pick Paolo Banchero, who scored 21 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and dished out seven assists. Banchero is just the third No. 1 overall pick in NBA history to score 20 or more points in each of his first six games, joining Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain (56) and Oscar Robertson (6) on the list.

"Not to sound full of myself or anything, but this is just what I expect out of myself," Banchero said. "What I'm doing is what I expect to be doing."

After falling asleep on the road trip, the offense seemed to wake up Friday night. The home crowd could have played a part in that, but ultimately the players have to make shots. And by shooting 49 percent from the field tonight, Orlando certainly made that happen.

The Magic is back in action Sunday night when it faces Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

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Published Oct 28, 2022

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.