A group of UNC Asheville students traveled to Charlotte to attend a Charlotte Hornets game as media.

The group left early on the 5th, shuffling over to Buzz city to get to the Spectrum Center early to talk to people on the Hornet’s communication team. Then the student went to the pregame press conference and then went to watch the game. 

The Charlotte Hornets won their 19th game in the season in a riveting 124-115 victory against the Orlando Magic. In their previous meetups, the Magic won all three of them with at least a 10-point difference lead.

The NBA team quickly scored first and held onto their lead until the end. The Hornet’s defense was key in the majority of the game.  

“I think our whole mindset, our physicality, we played with really good force. The ball was going into the paint. We had 29 assists which is a good, unselfish, inside-out play. The biggest part of it was we started so well. That was the biggest part of the game – the first quarter. Brandon (Miller) obviously was terrific. I thought our defense was good until the fourth quarter. They scored 25 points off live ball turnovers, which they’re good at, otherwise our defensive numbers would’ve been a lot better,” according to Hornets head coach, Steve Clifford on the Hornets quick start to the game. 

It was a disappointing game for the Magic, as they could only score more points than the Hornets in the 4th quarter. They were both tied in the points made in the second and third quarters.

“I think our intensity. Our intensity wasn’t where it usually is but honestly, I think you’ve got to give credit to them. I think they made a lot of tough shots, Brandon Miller especially. He had 20, whatever he had in the first quarter by himself, got us down and they made shots and matched our physicality,” said Magic power forward Paolo Banchero on the difference between meet-ups between the 2 teams.

Banchero made 32 points in the game including 8 assists.

One of the many aspects of the Orlando Magic’s giving up points was the poor defense that they couldn’t bounce back from. 

“Everything. Intensity. That’s on me, though. That’s on me. I’ve got to do a better job of getting them prepared for what they were going to see for a team that the week before had beat a very good basketball team, and had been in very tight ball games. So, I have to do a better job of preparing them for what the situation was going to be tonight.” said Magic  Jamahl Mosley

The forward, Brandon Miller, made 19 points without a miss in the first quarter with 7-of-7 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 from 3-point range. He joins Dell Curry as the only other Hornet to meet that threshold since 1996-1997.  At the end of the game Miller had 30 points.

“Just maintaining intensity, the same intensity, matching theirs and their physicality and just being smart. I think that’s one of the things we kind of put an emphasis on going into late in the game, just try not to foul. Going out every game like this with the same intensity, I think we’re going to be a tough team to beat,” said Brandon Miller. “I think that’s just the trust that we build every day. We just want to come in here and build bonds even stronger than what they are on the basketball court. We want to know each other’s weaknesses and strengths, so I think that’s important for us to know who’s out there playing with you. Having that trust like that, I think that’s important.”