Three players were ejected after a huge scuffle broke out in the fourth quarter of the Hornets-Magic matchup on Thursday.
While Charlotte held a 108–83 lead with 7:45 to play, forward Jalen McDaniels fouled Orlando’s R.J. Hampton on a drive to the basket.
Hampton and McDaniels got into it, and players from both teams began to spar.
Orlando’s Robin Lopez and Admiral Schofield were tossed as well as Charlotte’s Montrezl Harrell after a lengthy confrontation.
The game was delayed roughly 10 minutes as referees reviewed video of the tussle. Lopez was booed walking off the court as fans inside the Spectrum Center were on their feet, according to The Charlotte Observer.
According to the Observer, Hornets head coach James Borrego said he had yet to see a full replay of the entire incident. However, he summed up the situation in saying it was two teams playing hard in a game.
“We’ve got to keep our heads about us.... Obviously we’ve got to be smart in those situations, but we’ve still got to be aggressive,” Borrego said per the Observer. “You know, there’s no back-down from this team. So there’s a fine line there.”
Charlotte went on to win the game, 128–101, and the Hornets (41–39) secured a guaranteed spot in the league’s play-in tournament next week.
Charlotte currently sits in the No. 10 spot in the Eastern Conference, one game behind the Hawks (42–38) at No. 9 with two games remaining in the regular season.
