ORLANDO - The Orlando Magic played such a good first half against the Charlotte Hornets at Kia Center on Tuesday, the second game of an eight-game homestand, that they did something done only two other times in franchise history, which was outscore their opponent by at least 35 points before intermission.
The Magic led 67-32 at the break, tied for the second-largest halftime lead in franchise history, in their 112-92 victory. The biggest lead Orlando has ever had at the break is 38, set on Jan. 9, 2009 against the Atlanta Hawks. Ironically enough, the other time the Magic led by 35 at the half was against the Hornets on Feb. 14, 2019.
The Magic remained perfect at Kia Center against sub-.500 teams (15-0) this season and have now held their opponent to under 100 points 20 times. Only the New York Knicks have done this more (21 times).
In that dominant first half, Orlando shot 65 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point distance. Cole Anthony scored 19 of his 21 points in those 24 minutes on perfect 8-of-8 shooting from the field (finished 9-of-12).
“It all started on the defensive end,” Anthony said of his team’s superb first half. “We got some stops. We made some good plays on the offensive end. Good stuff happened.”
Jalen Suggs was Orlando’s second-leading scorer on the night with 16 points. In limited action, Paolo Banchero had 13 points and Franz Wagner finished with 11 points.
With Tuesday’s win, the Magic clinched at minimum a spot in the play-in tournament. They also improved to 41-28. The last time they were at least 13 games over .500 was on March 29, 2012.
2023 No. 2 overall draft pick Brandon Miller led the Hornets with 21 points, while Vasilije Micic, acquired at the trade deadline from the Thunder in the Gordon Hayward deal, finished with 20 points.
The competition will now start to get a little tougher for the Magic, with their next four opponents being the 41-26 New Orleans Pelicans, the 39-28 Sacramento Kings, the 35-32 Golden State Warriors and the 42-25 Los Angeles Clippers.
These upcoming games, all at the Kia Center where they are 24-8 this season, will help the Magic learn more about themselves. Orlando will go into the game against New Orleans on Thursday at 7 p.m. riding a four-game winning streak.
“We are going to come in tomorrow (and have) a great maintenance day and get some work in,” Anthony said. “We are going to come in with some juice, and we are going to allow that juice to help us (have) a good game against the New Orleans Pelicans.”