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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- It didn't matter that the Orlando Magic played like a team destined to settle at the bottom of the NBA. The Charlotte Hornets needed a breakthrough game on the road, and finally got it Friday night.
|  | | Anthony Mason stretches toward the hoop for two of his 16 points. |
"It feels great," coach Paul Silas said after the club's first win away from the Charlotte Coliseum. "I knew it was going to come sooner or later, but I'd much rather sooner than later."
The Hornets are 5-0 at home, but had lost their first four on
the road before opening a 14-point halftime lead and not allowing
the Magic to get closer than 11 the rest of the way.
Eddie Jones had 30 points on 11-for-17 shooting, including 5-of-7 on 3-point attempts. Bobby Phills scored 27, and Anthony
Mason contributed 16 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists.
"I wanted this game real bad," Jones said. "We just couldn't
get a game on the road. We knew this one we had to have. We face a
tough team tomorrow night (Portland), so we needed some type of
consistency."
Darrell Armstrong overcame a slow start to finish with 18 points
and 10 assists for the Magic, who have lost four straight after
getting off to a surprising 4-2 start.
Orlando trailed by 29 before outscoring the Hornets 19-2 over a
six-minute stretch, but never seriously threatened to erase the
deficit.
"I thought this was the first time we played the way everybody
thought we'd play," said Doc Rivers, the first-year coach of the
Magic, who have four new starters and nine newcomers overall after
launching a rebuilding project this summer.
"If you don't play with energy, anybody in this league will
give you problems," said a frustrated Armstrong, who was just
5-of-15 from the field. "If that's the way we're going to play,
we're going to be in trouble. I'm not pointing any fingers at
anyone. I'm pointing at the whole team, including myself."
With three players scoring in double figures, the Hornets built
a 58-44 lead at the half. Jones made six of nine shots and had 16
points at the break, while Phills had 13 and Mason 12.
The Magic struggled offensively in the first half, with the
exception of Monty Williams, who bounced back from a 1-for-9,
two-point outing in his first start for Orlando on Wednesday night.
The fifth-year pro hit five of his first six shots and finished
with 14 points.
The Hornets led 81-59 after three quarters, and the closest
Orlando got after that was 11 in the final minute.
The Magic began the fourth quarter with a 10-0 run to pull
within 12. But Jones stopped the momentum with a 3-pointer before Baron Davis made a free throw and Phills delivered a baseline
jumper to put Charlotte back in control.
"After a while, you start giving teams a lot of confidence and
you have the perception that you are not supposed to win on the
road. Then things start going against you. It's human nature,"
Mason said. "It's great to finally get that first win on the road
and let people know we are here to play."
Game notes
Charlotte's Derrick Coleman, who had a season-high 21 points, 18 rebounds and eight blocks in the Hornets' win over
Dallas on Wednesday night, did not dress because of a strained
right foot. ... Orlando's bench scored 28 of the Magic's 44 points
in the first half. ... The victory was just the second for the
Hornets in their last 11 trips to Orlando Arena. ... Earl Boykins, the 5-foot-5 guard the Magic signed when Matt Harpring went on the
injured list this week, made his debut and had six points in eight
minutes.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Charlotte Clubhouse
Orlando Clubhouse
RECAPS
Boston 109
New Jersey 96
Atlanta 105
Indiana 99
Toronto 106
LA Clippers 100
Charlotte 103
Orlando 92
Detroit 101
Cleveland 90
Minnesota 89
Utah 84
Portland 97
Philadelphia 91
Sacramento 103
Dallas 94
Phoenix 96
New York 81
LA Lakers 103
Chicago 95
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