What went wrong for Hornets? How Kon Knueppel, Charlotte spiraled out of playoff contention with ugly loss originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.Buzz City might be buzzing once again, but the fans in Orlando had the final say on Friday night.The Magic rolled to a 121-90 win to clinch the East’s final playoff berth, holding the Hornets to 37 points in the first half and leading by as much as 35 before halftime.The blowout loss was a complete momentum shift for both teams.

The Hornets traveled to Orlando as favorites after an exhilarating win over the Heat on Tuesday. The Magic, meanwhile, flopped in Philadelphia on Wednesday and were facing questions about the coaching future of Jamahl Mosley.For now, it’s the Hornets who have to deal with questions after missing the playoffs for the 10th consecutive season.SN's NBA HQ: Live NBA scores | Updated NBA standings | Full NBA scheduleWhat went wrong for Hornets?Deficits can quickly be overcome in the NBA, but the Hornets buried themselves with a dismal first half on Friday. Charlotte started 8-of-31 from the field and finished 13-of-41 in the first half, while the Magic won the rebounding battle by doubling up the Hornets 24-12 in the first half.

A quiet start from LaMelo Ball made the climb even more difficult for Charlotte, as he finished the first half with only two points before a much more productive second half that was too little, too late. The Hornets’ bench started 1-of-9 from the field, offering no support for a struggling starting lineup. Charlotte committed 15 turnovers and saw eight shots blocked by the Magic.

The Hornets couldn’t hold up defensively, either. Paolo Banchero proved doubters wrong with a stellar performance after struggling against the 76ers, scoring 23 points with four rebounds and six assists, and the Magic bench shot 6-of-11 in the win. Some of Orlando’s offensive success could be attributed to positive regression after a tough day on Wednesday, but the Hornets struggled to contain the Heat on Tuesday despite Bam Adebayo missing most of the game and let the Magic rebuild their confidence early in Friday’s contest.Kon Knueppel’s prolific 3-point shooting during the regular season helped the Hornets become a formidable playoff contender in the East, and his struggles of late can’t be ignored as a major reason for Charlotte’s exit.

Knueppel was benched at the end of Tuesday’s game against the Heat and was held to 11 points on Friday, shooting 1-of-6 from deep. While Knueppel alone wouldn’t have made up the deficit against the Magic, he might have simply run out of gas after a long rookie season.MORE: Hornets fail to snap playoff droughtHornets offensive stats vs. MagicPoints: 90FG-FGA: 28-83 (33.7%)3P-3PA: 12-45 (26.7%)FT-FTA: 22/25 (88.0%)Assists: 17TOV: 16The Hornets managed to reach 90 points, which might be a small win after such a sluggish start, but they were badly inefficient from start to finish.

Charlotte shot just 33.7 percent from the field, due partly to an exorbitant number of 3-point attempts while trying to make up the massive deficit. Charlotte had only 17 assists after posting 26 on Tuesday, and the Hornets had 10 more turnovers in the loss than they did against the Heat. Friday marked the Hornets’ lowest scoring output since Jan. 21 and third-lowest of the season.

After their offense carried them to a winning season, the unit couldn’t withstand the weight of the winner-take-all Play-In game.SN AWARDS:Victor Wembanyama Player of the Year | Joe Mazzulla Coach of the YearKon Knueppel Play-In Tournament statsPPG: 8.5RPG: 4.0APG: 1.0FG%: 22.7% (5-22)3PT%: 8.3% (1-12)FT%: 85.7% (6-7)Knueppel looked like he ran out of gas in the Hornets’ final two games of the season, as he scored only 17 points and shot 5-of-22 between Charlotte’s two Play-In Tournament games. After a historic season from 3-point range, the No. 4 pick shot just 1-of-12 from deep and was benched during overtime of Wednesday’s win over the Heat.