Pargo followed Henderson's jumper with the Bobcats' third triple of the third quarter to bring Charlotte to within one. Harris didn't fall over on the play, but was so concerned with Henderson's ability to drive the ball that he beelined to the baseline to cut it off, conceding the open jumper. Moments later, Henderson crossed over the taller, slower Harris and sank a pull-up two-pointer to bring Charlotte to within two points. Walker, too, didn't have a defender near him when he sank his off a Jannero Pargo dish just 33 seconds of game time later. Henderson was wide-open as he stepped into his shooting motion in delayed transition. Flattening out the floor for Nelson and O'Quinn to run high pick-and-rolls yielded open shots, and the Magic were also able to exploit some size mismatches, as when they got the ball to DeQuan Jones in the post against the diminutive Walker for an easy layup early in the third quarter.īack-to-back triples by Henderson and Walker trimmed the Magic's lead to four points, prompting Magic coach Jacque Vaughn to call for time. ![]() The shorthanded Magic-Vučević and Andrew Nicholson stayed at home in Orlando with injuries-played a spread-out offensive style which maximized the strengths of their available players. The Bobcats' ability to draw fouls helped keep them in the game in the first half, as they went 9-of-15 from the stripe compared to Orlando's 4-of-6 mark. All four of O'Quinn's first-half assists led to baskets right at the rim, including a powerful, one-handed slam by Harris, after which play the normally staid Harris let out a primal scream. ![]() Harris and O'Quinn worked to keep Charlotte at bay, and the rookie center's ability to facilitate the Magic's offense from the high post took a load off Magic point guard Jameer Nelson, who had to contend with the pesky and energetic defense of Kemba Walker. It also must be said that they worked harder to get good looks, rather than settling for bad ones. Charlotte, meanwhile, found the range offensively, shooting 7-of-13 from the floor with only one turnover in that span. The Magic's offense faltered without Harris, who missed his first two shots of the quarter before taking a rest at the 9:10 mark. The Bobcats began to chip away at Orlando's lead in the second quarter, using a 17-4 run in the opening 5:50 to trim Orlando's lead to six points. Byron Mullens was the most egregious example, jacking four shots in less than four minutes. O'Quinn, never known as a great offensive player, got three garbage buckets just by running the floor and being in the right place at the right time his scoring was more opportunistic than assertive, but he also drained two long two-pointers in face-up situations, showing more offensive versatility than normal.Ĭharlotte, for its part, played a disorganized brand of ball at both ends of the floor in the early going, committing four turnovers-three bad passes and one outright strip-and forcing poor shots. ![]() Harris announced his presence with a pair of threes, two blocked shots, a layup, and an 18-foot jumper as that last shot dropped through the hoop, an on-court microphone caught a Charlotte player shouting an obscenity. Indeed, both O'Quinn and Harris got off to hot starts on Wednesday, helping Orlando to control the game from the opening tip. ![]() Orlando shot 70 percent in the opening period and scored 39 points, a season-high, as its two leading scorers combined to top Charlotte's total. Magic at Bobcats: Complete coverage Vučević hopes to return before season ends Hedo Türkoğlu eligible to return Wednesday Magic's Nicholson to miss Bobcats game
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