MAGIC GUN DOWN HORNETS
ORLANDO ROUTS AILING CHARLOTTE, 145-120, FOR ITS FIFTH VICTORY IN A ROW.
By Selena Roberts | Sentinel Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 26, 1994 | @ CHARLOTTE, N.C.
Nick Anderson leaned forward in his chair, then flashed back, back to when the Orlando Magic struggled like a new-born colt. Wobbly and unsteady.
They have their legs now. And what a run they're on, a team that caused the Charlotte Coliseum to empty like a classroom for a fire drill Wednesday. Seems no one here was too interested in the Magic's history lesson, a franchise-record fifth consecutive victory, a 145-120 embarassment for the starless Charlotte Hornets.
It was too painful to watch. Only a handful of the 23,698 were left at the end of a record-making shootout, one where the Magic (25-16) shot a club-record 63.5 percent and scored the second-highest total ever on Charlotte (22-19).
Everyone grabbed a piece of history, with seven Magic players scoring in double figures, including Anfernee Hardaway (a career-high 32), Shaquille O'Neal (36) and Anderson (29), the Magic's first pick in the team's first NBA draft.
''There have been some tough times for this team,'' said Anderson, who had eight rebounds and seven assists. ''We've been down some rocky roads, like when we won just 18 games that first year. It was rough. So I'm going to enjoy this ride. Just look at us now.''
Look at how the lottery picks have developed, both O'Neal and Hardaway. Look at the veterans, like the dependable Scott Skiles (16 points), who hit 4 of 4 technical free throws when the Hornets came unglued quicker than a steamed envelope in the third quarter. They drew four technicals between 9:16 and 6:47 in the third, a stretch the Magic used to build a 20-point lead, an edge challenged by the Hornets, but never overcome. They didn't have Alonzo Mourning (calf bruise) to help them after he went down in the opening three minutes of the game.
''We have had to play without Alonzo and Larry Johnson (who is on the injured list) before,'' Charlotte's Hersey Hawkins (23 points) said. ''Give the Magic credit. It wasn't any different when Alonzo went out early tonight.''
It didn't look it, either. It's hard to imagine, but the Hornets once led this game by 18 points with 2:32 left in the first quarter. What a lead. What a shock. The Hornets were running on adrenaline, not reality. Fact was, Charlotte was fresh out of superstars.
There would be no Shaq-Zo rematch. Mourning never returned. Still, the Hornets led, 36-18. Undaunted, the Magic shrugged it off. Coach Brian Hill put in Donald Royal and Anthony Bowie (14 points) in the final 2:32 of the first quarter to give the Magic some much-needed defense. That seemed to make all the difference, as the Magic went on a 12-0 run to end the quarter.
''The opportunity came and I took it,'' Bowie said. ''Everyone knows I can do it.''
Hill knew it. He and his team never seemed flustered by Charlotte's quick start, somehow knowing they'd make the adjustments for the comeback. That's confidence.
''We stuck it to them, except for that first eight minutes,'' Skiles said. ''We played awfully well in the second half. As a team, we feel comfortable with or without Zo in the game, because our game plan is the same.''
Keep winning, that's the plan. Keep adding more to the record books.
''It's nice that we've accomplished something the team had never done before,'' said Hill, referring to the Magic's five-game streak.
It's the first real streak the Magic have ever been on, and they're doing it with old (Anderson and Skiles) and young (O'Neal and Hardaway) alike.
''This is only the beginning for us,'' Hardaway said. ''Only the beginning.''
There's still plenty of history to make.
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