Nikola Vucevic scored 28 points, rookie Cole Anthony had a career-high 21 points and the Orlando Magic avoided another fourth-quarter letdown as they beat the Charlotte Hornets 117-108 on Monday night at Amway Center.
It wasn’t pretty down the stretch, as the Hornets carved eight points out of a 15-point lead and got within nine after a sequence of fouls led to free throws.
But Charlotte (7-10) couldn’t knock down 3s and Orlando (8-10) was able to sprinkle in enough free throws to hold on.
Evan Fournier scored 19 points and hit five 3-pointers as the Magic set a season-high for 3s (19) and 3-point percentage (51.4%). Orlando has made at least 15 3s in three straight games for the first time in franchise history.
Orlando also set a season-high with 31 assists.
Vucevic also had 12 rebounds for his 13th double-double of the season.
Gordon Hayward and Terry Rozier each scored 24 points and Devonte’ Graham had 21 points for the Hornets.
The Magic pulled away to an 83-63 lead with a 21-2 run over a 4:29 stretch of the third quarter. The big blows came from behind the 3-point line. The Magic knocked down 6 of 7 shots from behind the arc during the run.
Bur Orlando couldn’t shake Charlotte, which closed the third quarter on a 13-4 run to get within 87-76.
The Hornets made it 101-94 after a corner 3 by Rozier before Gary Clark hit a 3 and Vucevic sank a 15-footer to push the lead to 12.
From there, the Magic were able to handle the Hornets’ ball pressure down the stretch, unlike what happened in Sunday’s 110-107 loss when they squandered a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter.
The Magic return to action Wednesday when they host the Sacramento Kings. The game tips off at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on Fox Sports Florida.
