Orlando Magic power forward Paulo Banchero couldn’t contain his frustration any longer. Two decisive home losses to the Charlotte Hornets in less than a month pushed him over the edge.
The Magic will attempt to bounce back on Saturday when they host the surging Cleveland Cavaliers in the first half of a home-and-home set.
Banchero had team highs of 23 points, seven rebounds and five assists on Thursday as Orlando was drubbed at home by the Hornets 124-97. Charlotte led by 33 points in coasting to the victory.
“They just came out and jumped on us, and we let the game get away from us,” Banchero said. “They really kicked our (butts) for sure. When you see something trending a certain way, you’ve got to change that — and we haven’t.”
Shooting guard Desmond Bane, the Magic’s key offseason acquisition, had 21 points, but the other three members of their starting lineup combined for just 11 and missed 18 of their 22 field-goal attempts in 67 minutes.
Though Orlando comfortably is sitting in a play-in tournament position, Charlotte has the fourth-worst record in the Eastern Conference. The Hornets rolled to a 120-105 win on Dec. 26 in the same arena.
“The same thing happened a couple weeks ago against Charlotte,” Banchero said. “We got down big early and they blew us out. It can’t continue to be like this.”
Nerves were frayed throughout the Magic roster when the team returned home from two international games, splitting two games with the Memphis Grizzlies from Jan. 15-18.
Orlando rallied from a 20-point deficit in a 118-111 win in Berlin, then lost 126-109 in London. Franz Wagner returned from a six-week absence with a high ankle sprain in the first contest, but will not play against Cleveland.
Banchero, who is averaging 21.0 points and 8.7 rebounds, expected the Magic to take a step forward this season after they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in 2024 and 2025.
“Last year wasn’t a great season, we had a lot of tough times,” he said. “It’s something that’s occurred over and over the last few seasons. The sad thing is it’s happening again. And now, our defense is slumping, which makes it even worse.”
The Cavaliers finally are hitting their stride, winning nine of their 13 games since Dec. 29 to move up from eighth to fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings. They are just one game out of third, which seemed highly unlikely during the holidays.
Cleveland took a late night flight to Central Florida after holding off the visiting Sacramento Kings 123-118 on Friday. Donovan Mitchell scored 33 points and Evan Mobley collected a season-high-tying 29 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists.
“We’re headed in the right direction,” said Mobley, who totaled 43 points, 27 rebounds and seven blocked shots in the Cavaliers’ two straight victories. “And I’m just trying to stack games. It’s all the hard work I’ve put in coming out.”
After being mauled by the NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder 136-104 at home on Jan. 19, Cleveland has knocked off Charlotte and Sacramento. The addition of second-year swingman Jaylon Tyson to the lineup has added intensity the club was lacking.
Tyson is averaging 19.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists over the last five games, four of them wins. His energy appears to have sparked Mobley, who has been a different player since coach Kenny Atkinson called him out earlier in the week for passivity.
“With (injured guard Darius Garland) out, we have got to manufacture some stuff with Donovan off the ball,” Atkinson said. “Evan has done an excellent job being aggressive and making the right plays.”
