LaMelo Ball, Hornets Take Historic Loss, Extend Postseason Drought as Magic Advance to NBA Playoffs

The Charlotte Hornets made NBA history in their Friday night play-in matchup against to the Orlando Magic.

Unfortunately for the Hornets, that did not include ending the franchise's NBA-leading decade-long playoff drought.

Magic End Hornets' Season

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The Hornets conceded a 121-90 defeat to the Magic on Friday night and, in doing so, suffered the biggest loss in play-in tournament history, according to ESPN.

The Magic will now advance to play the Detroit Pistons in the first round, while the Hornets' playoff drought will roll on.

Orlando pulled ahead just two minutes and 15 seconds into the first quarter of Friday night's home game and never looked back.

Orlando had pulled out to a 68-37 lead by halftime while holding the Hornets to 13 field goals while forcing 14 turnovers. LaMelo Ball was held to two points with three fouls over that stretch.

That marked the first 31-point halftime lead in NBA play-in history, per the Associated Press' Tim Reynolds. It was also the Magic's biggest halftime lead in more than two years.

The Magic continued dominating on defense in the second half. Orlando finished the game by holding the Hornets to 34 percent shooting from the field and 27 percent from deep.

Paolo Banchero finished out the win with a game-high 25 points while adding five rebounds and six assists, a nice bounce-back effort after he struggled in Wednesday's loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Starters Franz Wagner, Wendell Carter Jr., Desmond Bane and Jalen Suggs each contributed at least 12 points and five rebounds.

Ball finished out the Hornets' loss with 23 points on 7-for-17 shooting from the field, while Kon Knueppel was held to 11 points on 3-for-10 shooting.

The victory marked one of the most complete games of the season for the Magic, who will now advance to face the top-seeded Pistons in the first round.

The Pistons finished the regular season on top of the Eastern Conference with 60 wins, while just two years removed from a 14-win campaign, in part thanks to one of the most effective defenses in the NBA.

The Magic will need to build on the physicality they demonstrated against the Hornets on Friday night as they head into the first round.

The Pistons and Magic are set to tip off Game 1 of their first-round matchup Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET in Detroit.