Terrence Ross came off the bench to score a season-high 35 points, and the playoff-bound Orlando Magic ended the Charlotte Hornets' season with a 122-114 victory on Wednesday night.
Ross scored 19 of his points in the first half, when the Magic led by as many as 13. He scored 11 points in just over the final two minutes of the first quarter. Ross took over again down the stretch when the Magic led by as many as 14. He finished 12 of 19 from the field and 6 of 10 from 3-point range.
Ross' performance overshadowed a 43-point explosion by Charlotte's Kemba Walker in the defeat.
The Magic (42-40) remained the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs with the victory, and will face second-seeded Toronto in the first round of the playoffs.
The Hornets (39-43) were hoping to claim the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot, needing a win plus a loss by Detroit at New York. But it became clear early on that the Pistons would rout the Knicks, leaving Charlotte on the outside of the playoff field.
The Magic also received 27 points from Aaron Gordon, 18 from D.J. Augustin, and 14 from Evan Fournier. The Magic shot 54.5 percent from the field.
The Magic played without two starters, All-Star Nikola Vucevic and Jonathan Isaac. Vucevic was out because of illness, and Isaac was in concussion protocol.
Walker was 16 of 25 from the field, on a night when the Hornets shot 52.6 percent from the field. The Hornets also got 22 points from Jeremy Lamb, 18 from Miles Bridges, and 12 from Dwayne Bacon.
The Hornets had won two of the three previous games against the Magic this season, but the Magic routed the Hornets 127-89 in Orlando in their most-recent game Feb. 14.
The Hornets jumped out to a quick 16-8 lead, but Ross came off the bench to lead the Magic back to a 30-25 lead after one quarter. The Magic then pushed the lead to 13 on four occasions in the second quarter, the last at 53-40, before Walker led a Charlotte comeback and sliced the margin to 62-58 at halftime. The Magic led 97-88 after three quarters.
Orlando's biggest lead down the stretch was 116-102 with five minutes remaining.
--Field Level Media
Orlando | Charlotte | |
Terrence Ross 35 | Scoring | Kemba Walker 43 |
Michael Carter-Williams 7 | Assists | Kemba Walker 5 |
Aaron Gordon 7 | Rebounds | Jeremy Lamb 8 |
Terrence Ross 5 | Free Throws Made | Kemba Walker 7 |
Wes Iwundu 2 | Steals | Miles Bridges 2 |
Wes Iwundu 2 | Blocks | Miles Bridges 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Orlando | 122 | 54.5 | 11-30 | 15-20 | 24 | 39 | 2 | 5 | 6 |
Charlotte | 114 | 52.6 | 8-29 | 24-27 | 21 | 32 | 4 | 3 | 8 |