The Orlando Magic earned the No.8 seed in the Eastern Conference after beating the Charlotte Hornets 121-90 in the NBA play-in tournament on Friday night.
Orlando is about to face the top-seeded Detroit Pistons in a first-round playoff matchup.
Paolo Banchero led the Magic with 25 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists, Franz Wagner scored 18 points, 7 boards, and 6 assists, and Wendell Carter Jr. added 16 points and 6 rebounds.
On the other hand, LaMelo Ball led the Hornets with 23 points, Miles Bridges added 15, and Brandon Miller scored 14, shooting 4-of-7 on 3-pointers. Rookie of the Year contender Kon Knueppel tallied 11 points, shooting 3-for-10 and 1-of-6 on 3s.
The Magic put the Hornets away with early hot shooting and defensive stops, forcing four turnovers and erasing two shots in the opening quarter.
Charlotte head coach Charles called a timeout twice after 10-0 and 13-0 runs by the Magic, but it still wasn’t enough to stop the burst.
Orlando led 38-16 after the first, with Banchero already having 12, while Carter hit all four of his shots.
The Hornets dropped 25% (5-for-20) that left them struggling to get away from the Magic’s defense, since they were dependent on triples.
With the Magic’s huge lead in the first half, they kept playing with effort, diving for loose balls and out-hustling the Hornets, which helped them maintain the lead for the rest of the way.
The Magic looks forward to facing the No.1 seed Pistons in the first round of the playoffs.
