CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Brandon Miller made his first 10 shots from the field and finished with 30 points as the Charlotte Hornets snapped the Orlando Magic’s three-game win streak with a 124-115 victory on Friday night.
Miles Bridges added 23 points and Grant Williams added 18 points as the Hornets won for only the second time in their last 11 games.
Paolo Banchero had 32 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for the Magic, while Franz Wagner added 22 points.
Orlando (45-32) came in tied with the New York Knicks for fourth place in the Eastern Conference and hoping to take a step toward securing a home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
But the Magic ran into a buzzsaw in Miller.
The No. 2 overall pick made five 3s and had 24 points less than two minutes into the second quarter as the Hornets built a 45-27 lead. Miller finished the first half 10 of 10 from the field, joining Steph Curry as the only player in league history to record a first half of scoring at least 25 points, and perfect shooting from the field and the foul line while attempting a minimum of five 3-pointers.
Miller also moved passed Luka Doncic and Anthony Edwards into fifth place in NBA annals for 3s made in a season by a rookie with 173. Keegan Murray set the record last season with 206.
Charlotte led by 19, but the Magic would claw back to withing four with 9 1/2 minutes to play behind Wagner, who scored 13 points in the fourth quarter.
But the Hornets surged back ahead by double digits after Vasa Micic found Williams for an open 3 from the top of the key after a pick and pop. Charlotte put the game away with Vasa Micic caught an outlet pass and made a one-handed look ahead pass to Miller for the layup.
Micic had 14 points and nine assists.
UP NEXT
Magic: Host Chicago on Sunday night.
Hornets: Host Oklahoma City on Sunday night.
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