Getty Aaron Gordon and the Orlando Magic will take on Kemba Walker and the Charlotte Hornets.
Kemba Walker dropped 41 in his 2018-19 debut, but it wasn’t enough to get the Charlotte Hornets their first win of the year. They’ll try again on Friday night, when they visit the rebuilding Orlando Magic.
The game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on Fox Sports Southeast-Charlotte (in Hornets markets) and Fox Sports Florida (in Magic markets). If you don’t have cable or can’t get to a TV, you can still watch a live stream of the game (or DVR it) on your computer, phone, tablet or streaming device by signing up for one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services:
How to Watch Hornets vs Magic Online if You’re in Market
Fox Sports Southeast-Charlotte (local markets) and Fox Sports Florida (local markets) are included in the main Fubo bundle, which has 85 total channels and is tailored towards sports. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the FuboTV app.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 30 hours of Cloud DVR (with the ability to upgrade to 500 hours), as well as a “72-Hour Lookback” feature, which allows you to watch games up to three days after they air even if you forgot to record them.
In addition to a Netflix-like on-demand streaming library, Hulu also offers a bundle of 50-plus live TV channels, including Fox Sports Southeast-Charlotte (local markets) and Fox Sports Florida (local markets). You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Hulu app.
If you can’t watch live, “Hulu with Live TV” comes with 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of DVR space and the ability to fast forward through commercials).
Fox Sports Florida (local markets) is included in the “Sling Blue” channel package, but Fox Sports Southeast-Charlotte is not. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial right here, and you can then watch the game live on your computer via the Sling TV website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Sling TV app.
If you can’t watch live, you can get 50 hours of cloud DVR storage as an additional add-on.
How to Watch Hornets vs Magic Online if You’re Out of Market
If you live outside of the Hornets or Magic area, all out-of-market, non-nationally televised games can be watched through NBA League Pass. You can sign up and watch through a number of different platforms:
You can sign up for either NBA League Pass, which lets you watch all out-of-market games, or NBA Team Pass, which lets you watch all of one team’s games if they’re out of market. Once signed up, you’ll be able to watch games on your computer via the NBA.com website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the NBA app.
If you have FuboTV or sign up for a new subscription, you can add NBA League Pass to your channel bundle. After signing up, you’ll be able to watch games on your computer via the Fubo website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Fubo app.
If you have Sling TV or sign up for a new subsription, you can add NBA League Pass or NBA Team Pass to your channel bundle. Once signed up, you’ll be able to watch games on your computer via the Sling website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Sling app.
Preview
In their first game of the year, the Magic stunned the playoff hopeful Miami Heat with a 104-101 victory at home.
Rookie big man Mohamed Bamba played an impactful 25 minutes off the bench, scoring 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting to go with seven boards, a pair of blocks, and a three-pointer.
“I was so nervous going out there, but it was everything that I expected. It was a fun game to play in,” said the 20-year-old center, whom the Magic selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, per the Associated Press. “It’s just a matter of doing that 81 more times.”
Bamba’s blocks were two of seven for Orlando; all their swats came from the bench unit. Miami shot just 38-of-97 from the field, 39.2 percent.
“We had a tough time creating looks the way we wanted to, but you have to credit their defense,” Heat head coach Eric Spoelstra told AP. “They’re long, they do a really good job of protecting the paint.”
Aaron Gordon led the Magic with 26 points and 16 rebounds. The forward, in his fifth NBA season, shot 9-of-18 from the field, including 4-of-5 from three-point range.
“Offensively, we were here and there, but the story of the game was the bench,” said head coach Steve Clifford, in his first season with the Magic. “When they went in the game they picked up our defense and we played offense off our defense, which is something you have to do earlier in the year.”
Walker’s explosive performance wasn’t enough to top the Milwaukee Bucks in the Hornets’ season opener, falling 113-112 thanks in part to Giannis Antetokounmpo’s near triple-double.
“He had what, 41 points? I guess I didn’t do too good [defending Walker],” joked Milwaukee guard Eric Bledsoe. “He’s a tough guard man. I thought everybody locked in on him down the stretch and kind of helped me out a little bit. It’s a team game.”
New Hornets head coach James Borrego turned to an ultra-small lineup with his team trailing by 10 entering the fourth quarter: Walker, Tony Parker, Malik Monk, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and Nicolas Batum. Not a traditional big man in sight.
With what Parker described as an “unorthodox approach,” the Hornets tied the game up midway through the final period before ultimately losing by one.
“That lineup was small, super small,” a laughing Parker told the Associated Press. “But we came back.”
The Hornets won all four of their matchups with Orlando a season ago.