LaMelo Ball scored 44 points, but the Charlotte Hornets committed an avalanche of turnovers and lost to the Orlando Magic, 95,84.

The Summary

Taj Gibson of all people opened the scoring for the game. The second bucket was a bit more eventful.

OHHHH YEAHHHHH HERE WE GO@MELOD1P x @brandmillerr | @drpepper | 📹 @FDSN_Hornets pic.twitter.com/I9qpZAKoIA

— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) November 26, 2024

The nice scoring start gave way to some early signs that it might be a rough outing. The Hornets committed four turnovers in the first five minutes of the game, but the Magic’s cold shooting canceled them out. LaMelo Ball scored at the rim while Brandon Miller scored on three levels to give the Hornets an early lead, even with Nick Smith Jr. and KJ Simpson getting called into first quarter action.

The Hornets first possession of the second quarter fittingly ended with a shot clock violation turnover. That was followed by two more Hornets turnovers and a Charles Lee timeout. Lee tried to steady the ship by reinserting several starters, but their first possession also ended with a turnover–an offensive goaltending by Gibson. The Magic made a point to run LaMelo off the 3-point line, and he kept driving past them for finishes around the basket, which got him into a rhythm and precipitated a trio of triples later in the quarter. The offense bogged down once LaMelo cooled off, mostly via their own series of offensive fouls trying to set screens. Still, the Hornets led by four at the half.

The third quarter was pretty tough on the eyes. Both teams struggled to create good looks, so there were a lot of long possessions that ended with desperation shots. The Hornets started getting very frustrated with what they felt like were inconsistent whistles and the compounded their frustrations by committing another flurry of turnovers. The Magic continued to inaccurately bomb away from deep from the other side of the floor. The teams combined for 32 total points in the third and went into the final quarter with the Hornets nursing a 62-58 lead.

The bottom dropped out in the fourth quarter. The Magic finally started making the threes that they couldn’t find in the first three quarters. The turnovers that hadn’t bit the Hornets to that point finally caught up to them and let the Magic create some distance. LaMelo tried to keep the Hornets in the game with a number of strong drives to the basket, but he wasn’t able to keep up with the suddenly hot shooting Magic.

The Good

The turnovers have to come down, but LaMelo Ball is setting all sorts of Hornets records. He scored 44, his second straight game over 40 after having none prior to the last two games. 129 points over the last three games are the most in a three game stretch in Hornets history. The Magic tried to take away his 3-point shot, and he drove past any defender that was put in front of him. He still found time to hit some wild step back threes along the way as well. Beyond that, he clearly took ownership of helping on the defensive glass with the Hornets almost out of bigs. He chased down nine defensive boards including a number that were in traffic and required him to outmuscle Magicians. Again, the turnovers are a lot, but the total contributions are outweighing them.

He didn’t have the most efficient scoring night, but Miller did drop 20 once again and notched his first career back to back double doubles. He’s been significantly better at contributing rebounds, assists, and steals than he was as a rookie, which speaks to his development even if the shot doesn’t fall.

When the Hornets actually allowed themselves to set their defense, they had the perfect game plan to contain the Magic. They baited one of the worst 3-point shooting teams into taking almost half of their shots from beyond the arc. It worked; the Magic only connected on 26% of their attempts. They were just undone by allowing the Magic 19 more shot attempts than the Hornets had.

The Bad

Turnovers. Turnovers. Turnovers. They come in all shapes and sizes. Seven Hornets committed multiple turnovers. They ranged from reckless passes through traffic, wild passes to no one, bad picks, and sloppy ball handling. The team totaled 27 giveaways that led to 31 Magic points. That’s nearly a third of the Magic’s entire scoring output on the night. Even a bad night of turnovers would have been enough to overcome with how the Hornets played otherwise, but this night was beyond bad.

The Hornets made just 22% of their 3-point looks. They weren’t as reliant on the three ball with the Magic intent on taking it away, but they struggled to convert the opportunities they did get. It be like that sometimes.

Outside of the turnovers, the Hornets actually played a pretty good game. They had a hard time scoring, but that’s what the Magic do to people. If they take care of the ball, they win the game.

What’s Next

The Hornets host a Miami Heat team on the second night of back to back road games on Wednesday.