Gordon Hayward scores 39, nails the game-winner as Hornets end losing streak

Gordon Hayward scored a go-ahead layup with seven-tenths of a second left to give the Charlotte Hornets a 107-104 road victory over the Orlando Magic.

Hayward finished with 39 points, making 15-of-25 shots from the field. Hayward broke down the Magic’s Evan Fornier on the decisive drive, then hit a free throw after Magic rookie Cole Anthony committed an in-bounds violation at the other end.

The Hornets improved to 7-9.

The Hornets went on a 25-4 run to start the fourth quarter, overcoming a 12-point deficit. But Orlando’s Terrence Ross hit a 3-pointer with eight seconds left to tie the score at 104-104.

Hayward responded with his drive to the rim past Fornier. Hayward also had nine rebounds and made five of his eight 3-point attempts.

Five observations:

Hayward carries offense

The Hornets trailed by eight at halftime and stayed that close because Hayward carried them offensively with 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field.

Hayward, known for his mid-range game, is being pushed by coach James Borrego to take more 3s this season. Hayward made 47% from 3 his previous four games and made three of his five 3s before halftime Sunday. The one thing he didn’t do offensively that half was get to the foul line; no free-throw attempts after taking 10 Friday against the Chicago Bulls.

Ball bounce-back

Borrego played rookie LaMelo Ball just 17 minutes Friday, with lottery pick Ball committing five turnovers and struggling defensively.

Ball had a strong first half Sunday, with nine points, five assists and four rebounds. He played nearly as long in the first half (15 minutes) as all of Friday’s game. He also committed one turnover in that span.

Graham late comeback

Devonte Graham missed six of his first seven shots Sunday, but then made three in a row in the fourth-quarter comeback.

Graham, who has struggled with his shot this season, was coming off a 24-point performance against the Chicago Bulls, where he made 9- of-18 attempts.

Zeller shake-out

Cody Zeller played his second game back from missing a month with a broken ring finger on his left hand. He looked quite out of sync Friday against the Bulls, but seemed to be regaining his timing with teammates Sunday.

Borrego said pregame he would need several more games to see how best to mix the center minutes between Bismack Biyombo, Zeller and P.J. Washington. Biyombo continued to start Sunday.

Hectic week

Sunday started as busy a week as the Hornets will have all season — five games in seven nights, starting with a back-to-back against the Magic in Orlando. The Hornets then have home games Wednesday and Friday against the Indiana Pacers and Saturday versus the Milwaukee Bucks.

Some NBA coaches ration minutes aggressively in such a busy week. Borrego said he’ll be conscious of his rotation players’ freshness this week, but leans toward coaching each game in a vacuum, rather than shift minutes distribution in a weeklong template.