The Magic defeat the Hornets 121-90 in the play-in and advance to face the Pistons in the first round of the playoffs

The Magic defeat the Hornets 121-90 in the play-in and advance to face the Pistons in the first round of the playoffs
The Magic defeat the Hornets 121-90 in the play-in and advance to face the Pistons in the first round of the playoffs

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Paolo Banchero scored 25 points and the Orlando Magic built a 35-point first-half lead on the way to a 121-90 rout of the Charlotte Hornets in a play-in tournament game Friday night and advanced to a first-round playoff matchup against the Detroit Pistons.

The Magic earned the No. 8 seed in the playoffs and will begin their best-of-seven series in Detroit on Sunday.

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LaMelo Ball scored 21 of his 23 points in the third quarter for Charlotte.

Banchero scored 12 points and Wendell Carter Jr. added 10 as the Hornets went 5 for 20 with six turnovers in the first quarter and fell behind 38-16.

Ball was held scoreless with two turnovers when he went to the bench with three fouls with 7:10 left in the first half. He didn’t score until Orlando’s lead reached 35 points in the final seconds of the half.

The Magic were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in each of the last two postseasons and have not won a playoff round since 2010.

The Hornets, who beat the Magic in their last three regular-season games, have not been to the playoffs since 2016.

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