The Magic and the Hornets, who meet on Monday night in Charlotte, have been posting impressive numbers lately, but only Orlando is seeing those numbers translate to multiple wins.
Meanwhile, the Hornets are searching for more success regardless of certain individual numbers.
Charlotte guard LaMelo Ball poured in 50 points in Saturday’s 125-119 loss at Milwaukee. It was Charlotte’s third loss in the last four games, with the lone win coming in overtime against the Detroit Pistons on Thursday.
“That’s just him leading the team, as always,” Brandon Miller said of Ball, who entered Sunday third in the NBA in scoring (30.2). “Just being the top dog, making everybody better, getting everybody in the right places. (He’s) competing at the highest level he can and trying to get some wins for this Charlotte Hornets team.”
The Magic are one of the league’s hottest teams, winning eight of their last nine. Among those triumphs was a 114-99 decision Nov. 12 against the visiting Hornets.
Franz Wagner posted 30 points as the Magic topped Detroit 111-100 on Saturday. Wagner was the only Orlando starter with a double-figure point total, while Moritz Wagner had 18 points off the bench as three reserves posted 10 or more points.
Moritz Wagner’s value to the Magic has been notable.
“Moe wakes up with 10 points,” Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley said. “I think that’s just how it looks for him. He and Franz, obviously the brother connection is one thing. They’re knowing where one guy is going to be, the chemistry and communication that they have, just the ability to play off each other.”
Franz Wagner tallied 32 points in this season’s first meeting with Charlotte.
For the Hornets, both Ball and Miller made six 3-pointers in the Milwaukee game. Ball, who also distributed 10 assists, took 38 of Charlotte’s 100 shots from the field, while Miller hauled in 11 rebounds.
Only Ball and former Hornets guard Kemba Walker have scored 50 in a game for the Charlotte franchise. Ball said he admires Walker and has embraced the latter’s support.
“That’s my guy for sure,” Ball said. “Always helping, always looking out. I mean, just always putting in the extra effort to be there and stuff. So, that’s all love.”
The Hornets, who will start a five-game homestand on Monday, have won their last four home games.
However, Charlotte is dealing with an injury as forward Grant Williams appears likely to miss Monday’s matchup.
“I think it has just been diagnosed as a right knee injury,” Hornets coach Charles Lee said. “We’ll continue to get some imaging and evaluations. The most important thing is that all of our prayers are with Grant, and we hope the news comes back as good as possible.”
The Magic could be closer to getting Wendell Carter Jr. back after he went through another workout on Saturday.
“He’s gone through some pretty, pretty strenuous workouts, so we’re going to continue to see how he responds to those and we’ll go from there,” Mosley said.
