First Thoughts: Magic 93, Pacers 92
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Editor
First thoughts after the Indiana Pacers collapsed and lost 93-92 to the Orlando Magic on Sunday night at the Amway Center:
IN A NUTSHELL: Victor Oladipo scored 23 points and made five shots while playing the entire fourth quarter as the Magic, who have the third-worst record in the NBA at 16-37, somehow stormed back from a 17-point, third-quarter deficit to hand the Pacers an embarrassing defeat. Indiana’s 11th loss was arguably its worst, as the Magic shot 41 percent, got only seven points from leading scorer Arron Afflalo, fell behind big and won anyway. Paul George had 27 points and seven rebounds but missed an 18-foot pull-up with 0.9 seconds remaining that would have won the game. Lance Stephenson had 16 points and nine rebounds, while George Hill added 12 points and seven assists. David West chipped in 14, but Indiana’s bench scorers struggled. For Orlando, Nikola Vucevic was very good, piling up 19 points and 13 rebounds, while Tobias Harris contributed 13 points and five boards. Magic coach Jacque Vaughn won the chess match down the stretch by using Harris as a power forward and generally going away from starters Glen Davis and Jameer Nelson in the fourth quarter. Once Orlando seized the momentum, Frank Vogel never found a way to stop the landslide, the Pacers made one mistake after another, and Vogel failed to use a timeout after Stephenson stole an inbounds pass with 7 seconds left. That led to George’s rushed, hurried attempt.
KEY SEQUENCE: The Pacers led 52-43 at halftime and then 71-54 when West scored with 3:45 left in the third quarter. That should’ve been an insurmountable lead, virtually the final blow. But the Magic got off the mat immediately and became the aggressor, holding Indiana to three points on its final seven possessions of the period. Meanwhile, Orlando sank 10 free throws over that time (six from Vucevic, two each from Harris and Oladipo) to trail 74-64 entering the fourth. That’s when the comeback truly escalated, with the Magic scoring 12 points on their initial six trips to get within 77-76 with 8:58 remaining, making it a 22-6 run in a little under seven minutes of game time. After the teams traded turnovers and Indiana’s C.J. Watson missed a 3, Oladipo’s jumper gave Orlando a lead it would never relinquish. The rookie guard connected on another jumper and a 3-pointer on the next two possessions before Harris’ three-point play and a bucket from Maurice Harkless (six points, eight rebounds) provided Orlando a stunning 88-81 lead, causing Vogel to use his second timeout of the frame with 5:21 to go. That completed what was a 34-10 Magic run, certainly one of the Pacers’ ugliest stretches of the season.
It appeared Indiana would rally and save face when George’s 3 made it 88-86, but Afflalo responded with a fearless drive and then Hill missed a wide-open 3. After Davis (nine points, five boards) made two free throws, West got to the line and split a pair. Indiana got a stop and George dribbled down and popped right into another triple: Magic 92, Pacers 90 with 37.7 seconds left. In yet another twist, Oladipo committed an offensive foul trying to receive the inbounds pass. Indiana fumbled away that gift when George missed a 26-foot 3 with 14 seconds left on the shot clock. Orlando’s defense was scrambled, too, and George passed up a chance to blow by Vucevic and attack the rim for a closer shot or dish. Next Oladipo missed the second of two free throws, and the ensuing jump ball was won by Indiana for a Hill breakaway dunk that drew them to 93-92 with 16.9 seconds left. That set up Vucevic’s bad inbounds pass and George’s final miss, which came with three defenders around him.
BEST OF THE REST: With Stephenson’s return from a one-game absence, Indiana has been entirely healthy for 23 of the past 25 games. … Orlando scored just seven points on a sequence of 20 possessions spanning the second and third quarters. … Indiana was 11-of-24 (45.8 percent) from 3-point range. … The Pacers committed 15 turnovers, helping Orlando rack up 14 fast-break points, and allowed the Magic to chase down 11 offensive rebounds. … There were four ties and five lead changes.
WHAT WE LEARNED: If you reach far enough, there were some positives to pluck from this one (George and Stephenson had solid nights for the most part, the 3-point shooting was superb). Then again there were many more negatives (Roy Hibbert had another very quiet night; the free-throw shooting was bad; and ballhandling lapses were prevalent all over the floor — an issue that’s cropped up for two years now). Indiana expects to bounce back on Monday night when the Pacers wrap up a back-to-back against the injury-riddled Denver Nuggets. A day off comes after that before Indiana completes its pre-All-Star break schedule with a visit from Rick Carlisle’s Dallas Mavericks.
