By Sam Perley, hornets.com

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The Result

It was a great start to the year for the new-look Hornets as they rallied in the third quarter to come away with a 106-100 win over the Magic on Saturday, Oct. 3 in Orlando. The Magic controlled the game in the first half before the Hornets took back momentum with a 37-point performance in the third quarter which ultimately put the game out of reach for Orlando. One of the team’s newest arrivals, Jeremy Lin, led the way for the Hornets with a team-high 17 points, but Charlotte also lost Michael Kidd-Gilchrist to a dislocated right shoulder late in the first half. He will be re-evaluated on Monday in Charlotte.

Turning Points

After trailing the entire first half, the Hornets came out firing by going on a quick 14-2 run with just under nine minutes remaining in the third quarter to take a 70-60 lead before a Magic timeout at the 5:48 mark. Former-college teammates, Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lamb, combined for 20 points in the quarter as Charlotte would ultimately outscore the Magic, 37-25, to take a nine-point lead into the fourth. From that point, the Hornets put the game on cruise control and held off a late Magic rally as they notched a 106-100 win to open up their preseason schedule.

Inside the Box Score

Jeremy Lin (17), Jeremy Lamb (16), Nicolas Batum (14), Kemba Walker (13) and Cody Zeller (10) all scored in double figures for Charlotte… Walker also tacked on a game-high eight assists… Al Jefferson tallied four points and a game-high nine rebounds… Charlotte’s first-round pick, Frank Kaminsky, tallied seven points on 3-of-6 shooting and four rebounds in 10 minutes of play… Orlando’s Nicholson (23), Victor Oladipo (16) and Jason Smith (10) all reached double-digit scoring for the Magic… Nicholson also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds… C.J. Watson tallied five points on 2-of-10 shooting along with team highs in both assists (five) and steals (three)… Orlando’s first-round pick out of Croatia, Mario Hezonja, scored nine points on 4-of-6 shooting in 10 minutes of play…. Charlotte connected on 12-of-31 attempts from three-point range (38.7 percent) while the Magic hit just 6-of-26 shots from behind the arc (23.1 percent)… Orlando edged out Charlotte on the boards, 45-41, while the Hornets held a 30-22 advantage in assists.

Hornets Player of the Game

Jeremy Lin notched a team-high 17 points, two rebounds and seven assists to help lead his new team to victory in its preseason debut. Lin also nailed a clutch two-point shot with just under 20 seconds to go in the game to stretch Charlotte’s lead to 105-100 and end any hope of a Magic victory. Last season, Lin averaged 11.2 points and 4.6 assists in 74 games for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Magic Player of the Game

Andrew Nicholson exploded off the bench for Orlando finishing with a game-high 23 points and a team-high eight rebounds for the Magic in the loss. The 2012 first-round pick out of St. Bonaventure averaged just 4.9 points and 2.1 rebounds in 40 games last season for the Magic and has never scored more-than-22 points in any regular-season game through his first three years in the NBA.

Game Notes

Nikola Vucevic (shoulder), Aaron Gordon (jaw) and Evan Fournier (ankle) all did not play for Orlando… Charlotte’s Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lamb were also reunited with former-college teammate, Shabazz Napier, who is now a member of the Orlando Magic. All three played together on the University of Connecticut’s 2011 NCAA National Championship team.

Next Up

The Hornets will stay in the state of Florida with a preseason matchup against the Heat at 6 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 4 in Miami. The game can be heard on WFNZ or on the official Charlotte Hornets mobile app.