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The Charlotte Hornets look to end their four game losing streak tonight against the Orlando Magic down in Florida. It’s the first of an unusual back-to-back against the same team on consecutive nights.
Charlotte will try to put Friday night’s 13-point loss against Chicago behind them. Although Gordon Hayward scored 34 points in the game, the Hornets were plagued by 20 turnovers which lead to 26 points scored by the Bulls.
The Magic will be a completely different team than the one Charlotte faced a month ago in Orlando. Starting point guard Markelle Fultz tore his ACL two weeks ago and will miss the rest of the season.
In his place, current Magic and former Hornets head coach Steve Clifford has allowed forward Aaron Gordon to become the primary ball handler as it has paid dividends for the former Arizona Wildcat. He’s averaging over 16 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in his last six games.
Forward PJ Washington realizes that Gordon can present a matchup problem but he believes if the Hornets stay true to their defense, they can be successful against the Magic.
“We still have to be aggressive on the ball and pressure them. I know they don’t have a primary ball handler so our job is to press them and get easy turnovers,” stated Washington.
Tonight’s game will be on Fox Sports Southeast at 7pm eastern time.