CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- For once, the Charlotte Hornets showed some killer instinct.

The Hornets routed the Orlando Magic 121-81 on Friday night at the Spectrum Center in what was clearly their most dominant performance of the season. It was also their first wire-to-wire victory of the season.

Hornets coach Steve Clifford has bemoaned the way his team has let big leads slip away on several occasions, so he couldn't have been happier to see the lead continue to expand as the game went on. The Hornets led by 18 at halftime, by 26 after three quarters, and their biggest lead was 42.

"I liked the fact that we started well, good energy, good purpose of play," Clifford said. "We had the right attitude, the right approach. Sometimes being up 18, 19 is the worst place to be. We haven't been good this year in those situations. So playing well with the lead was good to see."

Kemba Walker led the way with 23 points despite sitting out the entire fourth quarter because of the blowout. But almost everyone had big games.

Marvin Williams finished with 12 points and a career-high 18 rebounds. Marco Belinelli scored 18, Nicolas Batum had 15 points and 10 rebounds, Brian Roberts scored 15, Christian Wood scored 14, and Jeremy Lamb scored 10. The Hornets' bench combined to score 61 points.

The Hornets shot 59.5 percent from the field for the game, were 10 of 21 from 3-point range, and the 81 points they allowed were the fewest they've allowed all season.

"This was an important win," said Walker, who was 9 of 13 from the field and 5 of 8 from 3-point range. "We just wanted to establish our play early on and do what we can. We played really great tonight. We made plays. Defensively, we were right on top of everything. So it was a great overall team win for us."

It was the Hornets' sixth straight victory over the Magic over the past two seasons, and their third straight blowout win in the series this season. The Hornets have won the three games this season by an average of 26.6 points.

The Hornets (29-36) have now won three of their last four as they battle for an Eastern Conference playoff spot.

The Magic (24-42) shot just 40.8 percent from the field. They were particularly bad at the start of each quarter. The Hornets scored the first eight points of the game, then the first seven points of the second quarter, then the first six points of the third quarter.

"They came out red hot," Orlando coach Frank Vogel said. "Even when we had good coverages, they were knocking down threes. They were red hot and we were ice cold. Sometimes the game goes that way, but you have to show some competitive spirit when you get down, respond to runs. We didn't have any of that tonight. It's been a problem with this team. I was disappointed in that part."

Aaron Gordon led the Magic with 20 points. Evan Fournier scored 14 and Mario Hezonja finished with 11. Elfrid Payton was unsuccessful in his bid for a third straight triple-double, as he finished with eight points, two rebounds and 12 assists. He didn't play at all in the fourth quarter with the score so lopsided.

"It seems like they're on fire every time they play us," Gordon said. "They do a good job on offense. They play with a good rhythm. They play with each other very well and the shots fell for them pretty much all night long. But it's pretty frustrating. It's never nice to lose like that going out."

NOTES: The Hornets were short-handed with F Frank Kaminsky (sprained AC joint), C Miles Plumlee (calf), F Johnny O'Bryant (ankle) and G Ramon Sessions (knee) all out. ... The Magic were without G Jodie Meeks (thumb) and C Nikola Vucevic (Achilles). ... This was the Hornets' biggest win since a 43-point rout of New York back in 2002. ... Magic C Bismack Biyombo was just 1 of 8 from the free-throw line, and F Terrence Ross went 0 for 5 from the field. ... The Hornets are now 18-2 overall and 12-0 at home when holding opponents under 100 points. ... The Magic was coming off a win over Chicago on Wednesday, while the Hornets were coming off a loss at Miami on Wednesday. ... The Magic will return home to face Cleveland on Saturday. ... The Hornets were opening a three-game home stand. They'll host New Orleans on Saturday.