ORLANDO, Fla. — Mason Plumlee scored a season-high 18 points as the Charlotte Hornets beat the Orlando Magic 112-105, bringing an end to the team's eight-game losing streak.
The Hornets never trailed in the game and led by as much as 19 points before the Magic went on a huge run in the fourth quarter trying for a comeback.
A 31-point first quarter gave Charlotte an eight-point lead after the opening period. The lead sat at 58-45 after the first half thanks to clutch shooting from Plumlee, Lamelo Ball, and Theo Maledon.
Charlotte had made a habit during the losing streak of completely disappearing in the second half after decent first halves, but that was not the case on Monday night.
The Hornets outscored the Magic 26-24 in the third quarter and went into the final period with an 84-69 lead.
Orlando fell down by 19 points with 10 minutes to go but some opportune 3-pointers from Chuma Okeke and Bol Bol made the score a little tighter.
The Magic slowly but surely pulled the margin to seven points by the final buzzer but it was too little too late. Despite outscoring Charlotte 36-28 in the fourth quarter, the Magic ultimately lost 112-105.
Plumlee led the Hornets with 18 points, making eight of nine shots and both free throw attempts. Ball and Terry Rozier tied for second on the team with 17 points each. Overall, the Hornets made 47.7% of their attempts from the field on the night and shot a solid 87.5% on free throws. Charlotte made just 20 percent of their 3-pointers, though.
Orlando was led by Franz Wagner with 23 points. The team made 40% of their shots on the night and were plagued by bad outings from Jalen Suggs and others. Suggs made just 10 percent of his shots.
Charlotte's win snaps a losing streak that started with a lead-blowing loss to the Sacramento Kings on Oct. 31. The last Hornets win was against the Golden State Warriors on Oct. 29.
Orlando (4-10) pulled off two wins in a row before being bested by Charlotte on Monday. The Magic's next opponent is the Minnesota Timberwolves (6-8) on Wednesday.
The Hornets (4-11) return home from their Florida road trip for a game against the Indiana Pacers (6-6) on Wednesday at the Spectrum Center.