By Sam Perley, hornets.com
Despite an injury-depleted roster, the Charlotte Hornets were still able to erase a 19-point second-half deficit to shock the Magic in overtime with a 120-116 victory on Friday, Jan. 22 in Orlando. Once again, it was Kemba Walker leading the way for the Hornets as he finished with a game-high 40 points in the win, which snapped a 10-game road losing streak for Charlotte. Victor Oladipo tallied a team-high and season-high 29 points for the Magic in the loss.
Turning Points Trailing 89-70 late in the third quarter, Charlotte rolled off an impressive 37-17 run to take a one-point lead over the Magic with 29 seconds remaining. After a missed shot and foul by the Magic, Kemba Walker drained two free throws to give the Hornets a 109-106 lead with 12 seconds left in regulation. On the ensuing Orlando possession, Victor Oladipo managed to bank in an off-balance three-pointer to tie the game at 109 with five seconds left, which eventually sent the game into overtime.
With the Hornets holding a four-point lead and 44 seconds remaining in overtime, Aaron Gordon knocked down a three-pointer to cut Charlotte’s lead to 115-114. On the next Charlotte possession, Oladipo managed to force a turnover and take it the other way for an easy two points to give Orlando a one-point advantage with 26 seconds to go. On the other end, Troy Daniels found Spencer Hawes just in front of the Magic bench as he knocked down a huge three-pointer of his own to retake a two-point lead for the Hornets. Oladipo missed a game-tying shot on the next Magic possession as Walker ended up icing the game with a pair of free throws in the closing seconds, which completed the comeback for the Hornets.
Inside the Box Score Kemba Walker tallied a game-high 40 points, seven rebounds and led the Hornets in both assists (nine) and steals (four)… Troy Daniels drained a season-high 17 points and tied a season high with three three-pointers… Spencer Hawes tallied a season-high 16 points and a season-high-tying 10 rebounds for his first double-double as a Hornet… Marvin Williams finished with 11 points and a season-high 14 rebounds for his career-high-tying seventh double-double of the season. The 14 rebounds for Williams was also the most by a Hornets player in a game this year… Brian Roberts also chipped in a season-high 11 points… Victor Oladipo finished with a season-high 29 points, four rebounds and three assists for Orlando… Tobias Harris tallied 22 points, five rebounds, two assists and two blocks… Nikola Vucevic recorded his 18th double-double of the season as he finished with 15 points, a team-high 12 rebounds, four assists, two steals and a game-high six blocks… Elfrid Payton came up just short of a triple-double with 11 points, nine rebounds and a game-high 10 assists… Evan Fournier (15 points) and Aaron Gordon (10 points) also scored in double figures for Orlando… Both teams finished with 48 rebounds although Charlotte held a 14-7 advantage in offensive boards… The Hornets scored 23 points off 19 total Orlando turnovers while the Magic managed just 11 points on 10 total giveaways by Charlotte.
Hornets Player of the Game Kemba Walker continued to light it up for the Hornets as he finished with a game-high 40 points on 14-of-28 shooting, seven rebounds and team highs in assists (nine) and steals (four) in the Hornets’ overtime win. This is the third 40-point performance of Walker’s career, two of which have now come in Charlotte’s last three games. He is also the sixth different player in the NBA to score 40-or-more points in a game multiple times this season.
Magic Player of the Game Victor Oladipo put together his best performance of the year for Orlando as he tallied a season-high 29 points, four rebounds and three assists in the loss. Oladipo also shot a season-best 11-of-19 from the field and knocked down five three-point shots, which was one shy of tying his career high set against the Brooklyn Nets on Jan. 8, 2016.
Game Notes Nicolas Batum (toe) and Cody Zeller (shoulder) did not play for Charlotte… Charlotte is now 4-0 on the season in overtime games… The Hornets have also won seven games this season when trailing by double digits… These teams will meet again in Charlotte on Mar. 16.
Next Up The Hornets head back home to take on the New York Knicks at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 23 in Charlotte. This game can be seen on FOX Sports Southeast or heard on WFNZ or on the official Charlotte Hornets mobile app.
