Leave it to the Human Torch to get the Orlando Magic fired up in Charlotte on Monday night.
When the Magic came out against the Hornets looking like a team at the end of a six-game, 12-day road trip, Terrence Ross decided to take things into his own hands. Evan Fournier then joined the party and Orlando eventually rolled to a 106-83 victory over Charlotte at the Spectrum Center on the day the NBA celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
“Impressive to me. That was one of our best wins because of our approach,” Magic coach Steve Clifford said. “That was six [games] in a row on the road, been gone for 12 days, coming off a poor performance, fly across the country, 5 o’clock [tip-off], could have had excuses. … I thought our attitude was great and it set the whole thing up.
“As he does a lot of night, Terrence, his shot-making kept us in the game. I loved the way we played.”
Looking much like the man who had gained the flaming nickname last season, Ross caught fire in the first half at the Spectrum Center. The Hornets had jumped out to an 11-point lead in the first quarter but then Ross took over.
A pair of dunks from Mo Bamba and a Michael Carter-Williams jumper capped a 14-1 Magic run, and then Ross hit three consecutive 3-pointers and the Magic were rolling.
“I felt like as we got our bodies going we were going to wake up regardless, but we just brought more energy in that second quarter,” said Ross, who reached double figures in scoring for the fourth consecutive game. “Everybody just kept telling me to keep shooting and when everyone starts looking for me, it just gives me that much more confidence when I’m shooting. I’m just trying to provide a spark anyway that I can.”
Ross hit five 3-pointers in the first half and ended with 16 points at the break as Orlando started to pull away with a 51-45 lead. Ross had 19 points for the game.
“When he gets going, he just doesn’t need much room. When he gets that look in his eye … let’s hope he has it again on Wednesday,” Clifford said of the Magic’s game at Amway Center against Oklahoma City.
In the second half, it was all Fournier, who had battled an illness during the past four days. The Magic were able to take a cheerful flight home to Orlando after moving to 21-23 this season.
“It’s a real good win. Now that you look back at this road trip, it’s not bad. … We could have had a great trip, but 3-3, we’ll take it,” Fournier said. “It was really just being mentally prepared and just do your job. I took some 5-Hour Energy [holding up the bottle] … and it got me going. It’s like pure caffeine.”
Orlando started out the way one might expect for a team at the end of a six-game trip. The Magic made just 8-of-25 first-quarter shots, including only 2-of-7 3-pointers, and even the lowly Hornets were having their way with the Magic, which had managed two wins — against the Kings and the Lakers — during the trip.
The Magic seemed to have caught on to the momentum sparked by Ross. They opened the second half with another run (14-2) that had the Hornets on their heels. Markelle Fultz scored six of the points and Fournier drilled a pair of 3-pointers as the Magic were spreading the wealth.
“I thought in the second half, that might be as good a 24 minutes as we’ve played so far,” Clifford said.
Orlando gained its biggest lead of the game to that point on the second Fournier trey of the run, and the Magic looked to be on their way to a blowout victory up 65-48 with 7:55 left. The Hornets, however, didn’t go away that easily.
They hit their own stretch late in the third quarter, outscoring the Magic 17-7 to pull within seven points at the end of three quarters, 72-65.
Fournier, however, continued his hot hand in the fourth, hitting two more 3-pointers early and the Hornets could not get closer. Fournier finished the game with 26 points, including 6-of-8 3-pointers, four of which came in the decisive fourth quarter.
“[Fournier] was great. He’s been hurt. He’s been sick. He’s been playing through it. Tonight he wasn’t good, he was great,” Clifford said.
Nikola Vucevic, who had scored 12 points in the first three quarters, ruled the final seven minutes, scoring 12 more points to end up with 24 for the game. He also had 10 rebounds.
The Magic will now play a three-game homestand against the Thunder, the Celtics and the Clippers followed by an in-state road-and-home series with the Heat.
Orlando’s game against Oklahoma City will tip off at 7 p.m. Wednesday and the contest will air on Fox Sports Florida.
chays@orlandosentinel.com
