Hornets at Magic
The Orlando Magic have not made the playoffs since 2011-12 and can go a long way toward ending their drought before the end of the calendar year. Orlando plays seven of the next eight games on their home court before New Year’s Day, starting with a visit from the Southeast Division-rival Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday.
“We’ve got to keep it going,” Magic center Nikola Vucevic told the Orlando Sentinel. “We have some teams that will come in that are going to be fighting for a playoff spot with us, and we have to beat them at home. So it’s going to be a very important stretch for us.” The Magic, who are 7-4 at home, stand percentage points ahead of Detroit and Atlanta for eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Charlotte shares first place with Miami in the Southeast Division and comes in off a 98-93 loss to Boston after running off four straight victories. The Hornets have depended a lot on guards Kemba Walker and Nicolas Batum, who combined to average 45 points the last two games.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Southeast (Charlotte), FSN Florida (Orlando)
ABOUT THE HORNETS (14-9): Guards Jeremy Lamb (12 points) and Jeremy Lin (10.7) -- both important offseason acquisitions -- also average in double figures to support Walker (18) and Batum (17 points, 6.7 rebounds), another newcomer. Forward Marvin Williams has also been a major factor (10 points, 7.1 boards), but had a season low-matching two points last time out. Center Cody Zeller is averaging 12 points over the last five games while getting more playing time with Al Jefferson injured and later suspended.
ABOUT THE MAGIC (13-11): Orlando has not dropped more than two straight since opening the season with three losses and Vucevic told reporters, “I think it shows that we’ve grown as a team, that we’re much stronger mentally.” Vucevic leads the team in scoring (15.6) and rebounds (8.6) and has made 58.5 percent of his shots the last four contests. Guard Evan Fournier has struggled of late, averaging 6.4 points and shooting 29.4 percent from the field over the past five games, after a strong start to the season.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Hornets are among the league leaders with 10 makes from 3-point range per game after finishing tied for 26th last season at 6.1.
2. Orlando PG Elfrid Payton is averaging 15 points and 1.7 turnovers in December after finishing November at 10.3 and 2.9, respectively.
3. Charlotte won the last two meetings while allowing an average of 86.5 points last season.