Hot-shooting rookie Kon Knueppel and the Charlotte Hornets look to continue a surge when they visit the Orlando Magic on Friday night.
Charlotte has won three of its last five games and Knueppel, the No. 4 overall pick out of Duke, leads all rookies in scoring with 19.4 points per game and is shooting 41.9% from 3-point range.
“We’re just going to take one game at a time, compete and try to get a win every night,” Knueppel said following Tuesday night’s 126-109 win over the Washington Wizards. “And going forward, I think if we play our brand of basketball and play the way we want to play, we’re going to have a good chance to do that.”
Knueppel was one of eight Hornets in double figures with 19 points against the Wizards, sinking 5 of 9 shots from behind the arc.
LaMelo Ball has been in and out of the Hornets’ lineup, appearing in 20 of 30 games this season dealing with ankle injuries. He is averaging 19.6 points and 8.7 assists, which would rank fifth in the NBA if he had played enough games to qualify.
Ball had a team-high 23 points with nine assists against Washington. Brandon Miller added 20 points, and Moussa Diabate delivered 12 points and 18 rebounds.
Second-year Charlotte coach Charles Lee believes the team is turning the corner due to its increased defensive intensity.
“I feel like our defense continues to get better,” he said on Tuesday. “The games that we win, our defensive rating is usually in a really good spot. And then offensively, I feel like ever since the game at Brooklyn (a 116-103 loss on Dec. 1), we’ve done such a better job of trusting the pass, playing the pass.”
Defense has been the Magic’s calling card for the last few years under coach Jamahl Mosley. That and injuries, unfortunately.
The Magic’s leading scorer, Franz Wagner, is currently dealing with a left ankle sprain and has missed the last two weeks, and Moritz Wagner is still out after tearing his ACL last season.
“Whoever is out there on the floor, you’re asked to play Magic basketball, and that is playing hard, playing together, playing defense, playing for one another,” Mosley said Tuesday. “This group will continue to show that as we get bodies back, whenever that may be.”
Orlando has won two of its last three games, most recently a 110-106 win in Portland on Tuesday. Desmond Bane scored 23 points, and Anthony Black added 22.
Orlando continues to rank among the worst 3-point shooting teams in the NBA at 34.3%, 27th in the league. Bane, brought over in a monster offseason trade with the Memphis Grizzlies, is shooting a career-worst 36.6% from downtown, but is coming off making a season-high four 3-pointers on seven attempts against the Trail Blazers.
Orlando defeated the Hornets 123-107 on Oct. 30 in Charlotte. The Magic have swept the last five meetings and won 10 of the last 11.
