Hornets' Playoff Hopes Dashed in Play-In Loss

0:00It's April 18th. You're listening to Charlotte Hornets News today, AI-powered coverage of your squad. The Charlotte Hornets' surprising run ended Friday night with a 1-21-90 blowout loss to the Orlando Magic in the play internament. After beating the Miami Heat in overtime on Tuesday to advance, they couldn't keep the momentum against Orlando, finishing the season 9th in the East with a 44-38 record, their best win total since 2015-16. Orlando's five starters all hit double figures, paced by Paolo Banchero's 25 points, while Charlotte dug a deep hole early, giving up. 38 in the first quarter, and 68 by halftime, down 31 at the break. Fans and analysts are pointing fingers at a few key spots, like Lamello Ball's rough start scoreless in the first quarter on zero of four shooting. Limited by Fowles, plus Miles Bridges, managing just 15 points with three turnovers, a step down from his big game against Miami. Rookie Kahn, New Apple, struggled to, shooting poorly in both planes with a team, worst-minus

1:0426 rating Friday, deeper issue, lack of playoff experience on a young squad that turned things around mid-season, raking eighth in net rating and dominating late. No moral victories here, but coach Charles Lee and players like Brandon Miller see it as fuel for growth. Heading into next year, this crew's got the pieces to push harder, watch them build on that foundation and chase deeper runs.