ORLANDO -- — LaMelo Ball returned to Charlotte's starting lineup and had 16 points, seven assists and six rebounds as the Hornets beat the Orlando Magic 124-97 on Thursday night.

Ball, who a night earlier had one of the worst shooting performances of his career when he came off the bench as part of a plan to manage his minutes, went 6 for 12 from the field and 4 for 8 from 3-point distance against Orlando. In a loss to Cleveland on Wednesday, the No. 3 pick in the 2020 draft finished with two points on 1-of-15 shooting, including 0 of 10 from 3-point range.

Brandon Miller scored 20 points to lead Charlotte's balanced effort. Collin Sexton came off the bench and scored 12 of his 19 points in the first half, Kon Knueppel and Tidjane Salaunadded added 13 apiece, and Miles Bridges, Moussa Diabate and Ryan Kalkbrenner each scored 10.

Paolo Banchero scored 23 points, and Desmond Bane added 21 for the Magic. Moritz Wagner scored 14, Noah Penda added 13 and Jeff Howard 10.

Back in the starting lineup, Ball played a role in the fast start for the Hornets that was missing against Cleveland a night earlier when they trailed by 21 points in the first quarter. Ball scored eight points in seven minutes on 3-for-3 shooting, including 2 for 2 from distance, as Charlotte led 35-20 after a period.

Ball had 11 points in 15 minutes in the first half as Charlotte built a 62-41 lead by the break with 55% (22 for 41) shooting from the floor, and 48% (11 for 23) from beyond the arc. The Hornets outscored Orlando 35-26 in the third and extended their lead to 30 points with a period remaining on the way to their fourth victory in nine games.

The Magic struggled throughout, shooting 33% (13 for 40), including 5 for 19 (26%) from distance in the first half.

Orlando was without guard Jalen Suggs, who missed his eighth straight game due to a right knee injury. Center Moe Wagner was also sidelined due to left knee management and could return to the lineup this weekend.

Up next

Hornets: Host the Washington Wizards on Saturday.

Magic: Host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Play By Play

Recent plays and game events

TIME	PLAY
12:00	Moussa Diabate vs. Wendell Carter Jr. (Desmond Bane gains possession)	0	0
11:38	Desmond Bane makes 25-foot three point jumper (Anthony Black assists)	3	0
11:15	Kon Knueppel misses 26-foot three point jumper	3	0
11:12	Miles Bridges offensive rebound	3	0
11:00	Brandon Miller makes 29-foot three point shot (LaMelo Ball assists)	3	3
10:43	Wendell Carter Jr. misses 22-foot three point jumper	3	3
10:40	Brandon Miller defensive rebound	3	3
10:37	Anthony Black personal foul	3	3
10:23	LaMelo Ball makes 26-foot three point step back jumpshot	3	6
9:57	Paolo Banchero misses 13-foot two point shot	3	6
9:57	Hornets defensive team rebound	3	6
9:57	Wendell Carter Jr. loose ball foul	3	6
9:42	LaMelo Ball makes 6-foot two point shot (Moussa Diabate assists)	3	8
9:21	Tristan da Silva bad pass turnover (Brandon Miller steals)	3	8
9:19	Moussa Diabate out of bounds bad pass turnover	3	8
9:07	Anthony Black misses two point shot	3	8
9:04	Kon Knueppel defensive rebound	3	8
8:51	Miles Bridges bad pass turnover (Tristan da Silva steals)	3	8
8:43	Desmond Bane misses 18-foot pullup jump shot	3	8
8:39	Moussa Diabate defensive rebound	3	8
8:24	Brandon Miller misses 22-foot three point jumper	3	8
8:18	Desmond Bane defensive rebound	3	8
8:00	Hornets Full timeout	3	8
8:00	(08:00) [Hornets] COACH'S CHALLENGE (CALL OVERTURNED) [Hornets] retain their timeout	3	8
8:00	Goga Bitadze enters the game for Wendell Carter Jr.	3	8
8:00	Moussa Diabate blocks Desmond Bane 's 4-foot driving layup	3	8
8:00	Hornets defensive team rebound	3	8
7:42	LaMelo Ball makes 24-foot three point step back jumpshot	3	11
7:25	Miles Bridges shooting foul	3	11
7:25	Paolo Banchero misses free throw 1 of 2	3	11
7:25	Magic offensive team rebound	3	11
7:25	Paolo Banchero makes free throw 2 of 2	4	11
7:09	Brandon Miller misses 17-foot pullup jump shot	4	11
7:05	Tristan da Silva defensive rebound	4	11
6:47	Tristan da Silva misses 25-foot three point jumper	4	11
6:46	Magic offensive team rebound	4	11
6:46	Moussa Diabate loose ball foul	4	11
6:46	Jase Richardson enters the game for Desmond Bane	4	11
6:46	Ryan Kalkbrenner enters the game for Kon Knueppel	4	11
6:46	Josh Green enters the game for Moussa Diabate	4	11
6:38	Ryan Kalkbrenner shooting foul	4	11
6:38	Paolo Banchero makes free throw 1 of 2	5	11
6:38	Paolo Banchero makes free throw 2 of 2	6	11
6:15	Goga Bitadze blocks Miles Bridges 's 6-foot two point shot	6	11
6:12	Paolo Banchero defensive rebound	6	11
6:10	Paolo Banchero lost ball turnover (Josh Green steals)	6	11
6:08	Brandon Miller out of bounds bad pass turnover	6	11
5:52	Jase Richardson misses 10-foot pullup jump shot	6	11
5:50	Ryan Kalkbrenner defensive rebound	6	11
5:39	Brandon Miller misses 24-foot three point jumper	6	11
5:36	Paolo Banchero defensive rebound	6	11
5:29	Anthony Black misses 25-foot three point jumper	6	11
5:26	Miles Bridges defensive rebound	6	11
5:11	Josh Green makes 26-foot three point jumper (Brandon Miller assists)	6	14
4:46	Jase Richardson misses 27-foot three point pullup jump shot	6	14
4:42	Miles Bridges defensive rebound	6	14
4:36	Goga Bitadze shooting foul	6	14
4:36	Miles Bridges misses free throw 1 of 2	6	14
4:36	Hornets offensive team rebound	6	14
4:36	Sion James enters the game for LaMelo Ball	6	14
4:36	Kon Knueppel enters the game for Brandon Miller	6	14
4:36	Miles Bridges makes free throw 2 of 2	6	15
4:22	Anthony Black makes 23-foot three point jumper (Paolo Banchero assists)	9	15
4:17	Tristan da Silva personal foul	9	15
4:04	Sion James makes 23-foot three point jumper (Kon Knueppel assists)	9	18
3:50	Josh Green blocks Anthony Black 's 6-foot pullup jump shot	9	18
3:46	Jase Richardson offensive rebound	9	18
3:43	Paolo Banchero steps out of bounds turnover	9	18
3:43	Moritz Wagner enters the game for Anthony Black	9	18
3:43	Tyus Jones enters the game for Paolo Banchero	9	18
3:43	Wendell Carter Jr. enters the game for Goga Bitadze	9	18
3:22	Josh Green misses 12-foot pullup jump shot	9	18
3:20	Tristan da Silva defensive rebound	9	18
3:16	Tristan da Silva out of bounds lost ball turnover	9	18
3:00	Kon Knueppel misses 22-foot three point jumper	9	18
2:58	Kon Knueppel offensive rebound	9	18
2:57	Kon Knueppel makes 22-foot three point jumper	9	21
2:56	Magic Full timeout	9	18
2:56	Desmond Bane enters the game for Jase Richardson	9	18
2:56	Noah Penda enters the game for Tristan da Silva	9	18
2:56	Collin Sexton enters the game for Miles Bridges	9	18
2:56	Tidjane Salaun enters the game for Josh Green	9	18
2:43	Sion James shooting foul	9	18
2:43	Desmond Bane makes free throw 1 of 2	10	18
2:43	Desmond Bane makes free throw 2 of 2	11	18
2:28	Collin Sexton lost ball turnover (Noah Penda steals)	11	18
2:24	Noah Penda makes running dunk	13	18
2:20	Kon Knueppel misses 26-foot three point jumper	13	18
2:20	Wendell Carter Jr. defensive rebound	13	18
2:10	Tyus Jones makes 26-foot three pointer (Wendell Carter Jr. assists)	16	18
1:56	Collin Sexton makes driving layup	16	20
1:47	Ryan Kalkbrenner shooting foul	16	20
1:47	Moritz Wagner makes free throw 1 of 2	17	20
1:47	Moussa Diabate enters the game for Ryan Kalkbrenner	17	20
1:47	Moritz Wagner makes free throw 2 of 2	18	20
1:30	Tidjane Salaun makes 26-foot three point step back jumpshot (Collin Sexton assists)	18	23
1:12	Wendell Carter Jr. makes layup	20	23
1:03	Collin Sexton makes 26-foot three point jumper (Kon Knueppel assists)	20	26
51.5	Wendell Carter Jr. misses 25-foot three point jumper	20	26
49.9	Tidjane Salaun defensive rebound	20	26
42.6	Collin Sexton makes 25-foot three pointer (Sion James assists)	20	29
35.1	Tyus Jones misses 28-foot three point pullup jump shot	20	29
32.5	Tidjane Salaun defensive rebound	20	29
16.6	Noah Penda personal foul	20	29
16.6	Kon Knueppel makes free throw 1 of 2	20	30
16.6	Josh Green enters the game for Collin Sexton	20	30
16.6	Kon Knueppel makes free throw 2 of 2	20	31
16.6	Wendell Carter Jr. loose ball foul	20	31
16.6	Moussa Diabate makes free throw 1 of 1	20	32
0.0	Noah Penda misses driving layup	20	32
0.0	Magic offensive team rebound	20	32
0.0	End of the 1st Quarter	20	32

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Game Information

Time, Location & Referees

Venue

Kia Center

Orlando, FL

Date & Time

12:00 AM, January 23, 2026

Coverage

FanDuel SN FL, FanDuel SN SE, NBA League Pass

Attendance

19,423

Referees

Ed Malloy, Jacyn Goble, John Conley

2025-26 Southeast Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
Miami	35	29	.547	W4
Orlando	33	28	.541	W2
Atlanta	32	31	.508	W5
Charlotte	32	32	.500	L1
Washington	16	46	.258	L7

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Ball back in starting lineup, helps spark fast start as the Hornets beat Magic 124-97

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