By Juan Carlos Blanco, RotoWire
Second-round pick Dwayne Bacon’s 29 points closed out a solid Summer League performance for the rookie and propelled the Charlotte Hornets to an 86-78 victory over the Orlando Magic in the final Orlando Summer League matchup for both teams Thursday morning at Amway Center.
Bacon, Johnny O’Bryant and Briante Weber have been among the most consistent performers for the Hornets over the past week, and that was the case once again in the Orlando Summer League finale. The three combined for 68 of Charlotte’s 86 points on the strength of 51 percent shooting (24-for-47). The one area in which the Hornets struggled was from long distance, where they were a dismal 1-of-17 shooting, with the only three-pointer coming off the hands of O’Bryant in the closing seconds to help seal the win. The Magic weren’t much better, however, draining only four of their 20 long distance attempts en route to a 43.5 percent shooting effort overall. They also lost the battle on the glass, getting outrebounded by a 35-30 margin.
Bacon supplemented his team-leading scoring total with eight rebounds, an assist and a steal. O’Bryant provided 23 points, five boards and an assist, while Weber supplied 16 points, two assists and four steals. Former Virginia forward Anthony Gill wrapped up a strong week with eight points, six rebounds, an assist, two steals and a block. Treveon Graham, who appeared in 27 games during his rookie season and entered Thursday as Charlotte’s leading scorer in Summer League play, sat out with a hamstring injury.
Orlando was led by former Gonzaga center Przemek Karnowski, who entered Thursday tied with Kalin Lucas for the team lead with 14.0 points per game and contributed 20 points, nine rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. Marcus Georges-Hunt chipped in with 18 points, five boards and three assists. Josh Gray came off the bench to pour in 14 points, which he supplemented with four assists, two rebounds and three steals. Patrico Garino (nine points, one assist, one steal and one block) and Lucas (eight points) also made notable contributions.
