The Charlotte Hornets (38 - 29) defeated the Orlando Magic (29 - 38) on Wednesday, 107 - 99. The Hornets have now won eight of their last nine games, quickly rising up the Eastern Conference standings. A large part of Charlotte's push has been due to the play of point guard Kemba Walker, who is averaging 26 points and 7 assists over the team's last 10 contests. Walker made another big contribution on Wednesday, scoring 16 and pulling down a surprising eight rebounds. He was upstaged, however, by forwards Marvin Williams and Nic Batum, who posted 26 points apiece. Batum also facilitated the offense nicely, dishing out a team - high nine assists. For the Magic, meanwhile, any playoff hopes are beginning to slip away, as the team now sits nine games below .500. Guard Victor Oladipo scored 25 points in one of his stronger outings of the season. The scoring was needed, however, as the frontcourt combo of Aaron Gordon and Dewayne Dedmon combined for just one point on the night. The team struggled from the field as a whole, shooting just 42 percent. The Magic will host the Cavaliers on Friday, while the Hornets will visit Miami on Thursday.
["TeamStat(G,'Hornets') has 29 Losses ,has 107 Total points ,has 26 Points in 1st quarter ,has 8 Turnovers ,has 38 Wins ."
 "TeamStat(G,'Magic') has 38 Losses ,has 99 Total points ,has 8 Points in 1st quarter ,has 29 Turnovers ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Dewayne Dedmon') has 1 Assists ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Victor Oladipo') has 1 Assists ,has 25 Field goals attempted ,has 1 Personal fouls ,has 1 Points ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Nicolas Batum') has 9 Assists ,has 26 Field goals attempted ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Marvin Williams') has 26 Assists ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Kemba Walker') has 16 Assists ,has 16 Field goals attempted ,has 8 Personal fouls ."]