No Paolo Banchero, no Wendell Carter Jr., no Jalen Suggs, no Gary Harris and seemingly no problem for the Orlando Magic against the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night at Spectrum Center.

On a night that, at times, felt like a rock fight between Orlando and Charlotte (6-11), Jamahl Mosley’s squad relied heavily on its defense en route to the 95-84 road victory.

Without Banchero (torn right abdominal muscle), Carter (left foot plantar fasciitis), Suggs (left hamstring strain) and Harris (who exited early due to a left hamstring strain), the Magic saw Franz Wagner come alive in the fourth quarter when he scored 13 of his team-high 21 points.

It was part of a larger effort by the Magic when they outscored the Hornets 37-22 in the fourth quarter after entering the final frame trailing by four.

The 11-point win is Orlando’s third straight and marks their ninth in the last 10 games.

The Magic (12-7) return to Kia Center on Wednesday when they host the Bulls before starting a five-game trip Friday at Brooklyn.

What worked

Turning defense into offense.

When Orlando’s half-court offense seemed stuck in the mud, the Magic had no choice but to take advantage of Charlotte’s turnovers.

And there were plenty of them.

The Magic totaled 33 points off 27 Charlotte turnovers. In comparison, the Hornets scored just four points off eight Orlando turnovers.

Seven different players recorded a steal for Orlando, including a team-high four from Wagner and three more from Anthony Black.

What didn’t work

Long-range shooting.

The Hornets were basically asking the Magic to shoot 3-pointers when they packed the paint with defenders, and it wasn’t that bad of a tactic to start.

Orlando did itself no favors when it shot 12 of 46 (26.1%) from beyond the arc on the night.

Charlotte was even worse from distance at 21.9% (7 of 32).

Help from the bench

When Harris exited the game in the first quarter due to a left hamstring strain, the Magic called on Cole Anthony to help provide a boost.

And, after falling out of Orlando’s rotation earlier in the season, Anthony answered the call when it was needed most.

While crashing the boards (eight rebounds) and distributing the ball (four assists), Anthony added 16 critical points in 27 minutes. It was just his second game this season in double figures.

More importantly, he wasn’t alone.

Orlando’s bench outscored Charlotte’s 53-15. That included 16 points from Moe Wagner, Anthony’s 16, 11 from Jonathan Isaac and 10 from Black, the latter of whom started the second half for Harris.

Injury update

Mosley said before the game that not playing Suggs was out of precaution more than anything.

Suggs missed the second half of Saturday’s 111-100 home victory over Detroit due to a sore left hamstring, but he didn’t appear on Orlando’s injury report until Monday afternoon with the hamstring strain.

Listed as questionable at first, he was later ruled unavailable pregame.

“Just having that sore hamstring, we want to just be more precautious in this situation,” Mosley said.

Up next

Magic vs. Bulls

When: 7 p.m. ET, Wednesday, Kia Center

TV: FanDuel Sports Network Florida

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