Bench conjures up spark as Charlotte Hornets finish sweep of Orlando Magic

The Charlotte Hornets’ bench is making them a very dangerous team these days.

The Hornets, getting big games from subs Marco Belinelli and Frank Kaminsky, won their third consecutive game Wednesday, beating the Orlando Magic 109-102 at the Amway Center.

Belinelli and Kaminsky gave the Hornets (32-39) a huge boost off the bench. Belinelli scored 20 points, 16 in the second quarter. Kaminsky added 18, 13 in the fourth quarter.

“The way those guys played in both halves, that was the key to us winning,” said Hornets coach Steve Clifford.

Belinelli and Kaminsky were often on the court with two other substitutes – guards Briante Weber and Jeremy Lamb – along with starting forward Marvin Williams. All of those players are effective outside shooters and they stretched the Magic defense to the limit.

“That gave us a lot of room outside,” said Clifford.

The Hornets played from behind for most of the game and didn’t take the lead for good until center Cody Zeller scored inside with 5 minutes, 51 seconds left, giving Charlotte a 92-91 lead.

The Hornets pushed the lead to as many as nine points down the stretch on another Zeller tip before the Magic made it interesting in the final minute, cutting it to 107-102 on a 3-pointer by Evan Fournier.

Kaminsky appears to have regained his form after he missed five games recently with a sprained shoulder. He’s averaging 16.5 points over the last four games, overcoming slow starts in eachto put up big numbers late.

“I feel like especially in the last couple of games, I’ve been missing my first couple of shots, then they start going in and it gets easier,” said Kaminsky. “I keep shooting the same shots that I was shooting the whole game.”

Although the Hornets are on a modest three-game winning streak, they haven’t made a dent in their push for a playoff berth. They remain 11^th in the Eastern Conference, three games behind the Miami Heat.

Three who mattered

Kemba Walker: Scored 22, including three free throws in final 20 seconds to fend off Magic.

Frank Kaminsky: It was his fourth game this season with four or more 3-pointers – all since Jan. 10.

Terrence Ross: Magic forward scored 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting.

Observations

▪ The Hornets got three consecutive high-percentage baskets in the first quarter when Cody Zeller (twice) and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist threw down dunks to rally the Hornets to a 15-15 tie.

▪ The start of the second quarter belonged to Hornets backup guard Marco Belinelli, who scored 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting in less than five minutes. The rest of the quarter belonged to the Magic, which rallied from a Belinelli-induced five-point deficit to a 54-48 lead at halftime.

▪ The Hornets’ Kemba Walker entered the game with NBA-leading 54 3-pointers made since the All-Star break.

Worth mentioning

▪ Young point guards Briante Weber of Charlotte and Orlando’s Elfrid Payton have two of the more distinctive hair-dos in the NBA.

▪ Charlotte forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist felt like he was knocked to the floor in the second quarter and spent several seconds complaining to referee Karl Lane about it.

▪ The Hornets swept the four-game season series from Orlando, winning by an average margin of 19.3 points. Wednesday’s game was the closest of the four.

They said it

“Oh yes, I think he’s getting back in rhythm.” – Steve Clifford, on Frank Kaminsky.

“You actively start searching for your shot more, then the confidence gets there.” – Kaminsky.

“It hurts, man. All four against that team is pretty painful.” – Magic guard Evan Fournier, on being swept by the Hornets.

Report card

A OFFENSE: Twenty-four assists on 42 made field goals is an excellent ratio.

B+ DEFENSE: Another strong fourth quarter, holding Orlando to 20 points.

A- COACHING: Everything seems to be working these days. Has Clifford’s message gotten through?

This story was originally published March 22, 2017 at 9:33 PM with the headline "Bench conjures up spark as Charlotte Hornets finish sweep of Orlando Magic."