Pacers-Magic Preview

By ALAN FERGUSON
Posted Jan 15 2013 11:52PM

The Indiana Pacers had little trouble picking up their first road win of the new year last time out. A matchup with the Orlando Magic wouldn't appear to give them too much of a challenge either.

The Pacers will try to keep rolling Wednesday night when they visit the Magic, losers in 11 of 12 and a season-high six in a row at home.

Indiana (24-15) has won 14 of 18 but had also dropped three straight on the road before delivering a 103-76 thumping of lowly Charlotte on Tuesday. The Pacers, who hadn't won away from Indiana since Dec. 22, held the Bobcats to 34.7 percent shooting and Roy Hibbert led a group of four players in double figures with 18 points.

It was the eighth time this season that Indiana has allowed fewer than 80 points and it's giving up only 88.9 per game. That's helped the Pacers compensate for an offense that's averaging just 91.3.

"Our defense is a beast. We're leading in a number of different defensive categories. We have great length and these guys are committed to trying to be the best defense in the NBA," coach Frank Vogel said. "(Our offense) can get clicking and we can get really hot at times and when it does, like tonight, look at what happened.

"We are trying to commit to the running game more. We got 19 fast-break points in the first half. Big difference in the game. We're playing good basketball."

The Magic (13-24), meanwhile, have not been playing good basketball.

Most of their troubles have come on the defensive end as they're allowing an average of 113.6 points over their last five games.

The return of Glen Davis from a sprained left shoulder was not enough to help break Orlando out of its funk Monday as it was routed 120-91 by a Washington team that owns the NBA's worst record. Davis had 13 points off the bench while ending an 11-game absence and Jameer Nelson had a team-best 19 points despite missing 11 of 17 shots.

"The good thing about the NBA is we can hopefully put this game behind us pretty quickly, go home, get some rest and look forward to playing Indiana," coach Jacque Vaughn said. "It's just some nights you're not going to have it. Luckily, we have a good group, and we're looking forward to playing Indiana."

The Magic won three of four over Indiana last season but won't have the top two scorers from those games (Dwight Howard and Ryan Anderson). Orlando has prevailed in 14 of 17 matchups and seven of eight at home.

Indiana, though, earned its lone win in Orlando over that stretch on Jan. 29 as the currently injured Danny Granger's 24 points led the way in a 106-85 rout. David West and George Hill added 16 apiece, and the Pacers shot 51.1 percent.

Indiana will next try to hand the Magic a seventh consecutive home loss for the first time since the end of the 2003-04 season.

Magic ride 3-pointers to 97-86 win over Pacers

By KYLE HIGHTOWER
Posted Jan 16 2013 10:59PM

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) It was a welcome homecoming for the Orlando Magic.

After plodding through a 1-3 road trip that included a season-worst 10th consecutive loss, the Magic showed few signs of mental fatigue as they snapped a six-game home losing streak with a 97-86 win over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night.

Nikola Vucevic had 16 points and 15 rebounds to pace Orlando, which has now won two of its last three, having also slipped past the Los Angeles Clippers last week. Vucevic also posted his eighth straight double-double.

"We've beaten some good teams this year," Magic guard J.J. Redick said. "And we've been in games against good teams. ... It's just our offense was pretty crisp, we shot it well (and) took care of the ball."

The Magic led by as many as 22 points, and blew the game open with a big second-quarter run that included a barrage of 3-pointers. The Magic connected on 12 of their 21 attempts from beyond the arc for the game.

What made the Magic's victory Wednesday even more impressive, though, was that it came against a Pacers team that had been allowing opponents a league-low 88.9 points per game.

Paul George had 20 points and 10 rebounds to lead Indiana, and George Hill added 15 points. Big man Roy Hibbert battled foul trouble throughout and finished with just 11 points and seven rebounds in 22 minutes.

The Pacers have lost two of their last three.

Indiana earned its first road victory of 2013 on Tuesday with a blowout win at Charlotte, but was sluggish for most of the night against the Magic. The Pacers fell to 8-5 this season in the second game of back-to-backs.

Pacers coach Frank Vogel said his team's lackluster effort, which included 15 turnovers and just 18 assists, couldn't be explained away by the quick turnaround.

"Probably, but it doesn't factor into any excuse," Vogel said. "You've still got to come out and try to get a `W'. They certainly had the edge tonight, and showed up."

Indiana briefly threatened to begin the fourth quarter, cutting Orlando's lead to 13 points.

The surge dissipated, though, thanks to a 10-4 run by the Magic to begin the period to push it back to 87-68.

"I just thought they came out and got what they wanted," Indiana forward David West said. They moved the ball and had us on our heels for most of the night. Obviously we didn't defend the 3-point shot well enough."

Orlando also got a boost from forward Glen Davis, who started his first game since returning from a sprained left shoulder. He had sat out 11 straight games before coming off the bench in the Magic's blowout loss at Washington on Monday. The Magic were 1-10 without him.

He got involved early Wednesday in his first home game since Dec. 19, scoring seven of Orlando's first 13 points before taking his first rest late in the first quarter. He finished with 11 points and four rebounds in 24 minutes.

Davis' start helped the Magic shoot 46 percent (21 for 45) from the field in the first half on their way to building a 51-35 halftime advantage.

Indiana sprinted out to a 15-8 lead before a 32-8 run by the Magic gave them their largest lead of the half at 40-23.

Orlando spread the offensive wealth, getting a variety of shots inside and out. The Magic hit six 3-pointers and Davis and Vucevic combined for 19 first-half points.

Magic coach Jacque Vaughn acknowledged it would take some time to integrate Davis back into the rotation like he was before his injury. He also said he isn't worried about cutting into the groove Vucevic has found on the inside in Davis' absence.

Vaughn said having them both healthy now will give him extra options against bigger teams. He said Vucevic having to play without Davis recently has given Vucevic a lot more confidence.

"That's just the trust that I have in him and the fact that he could guard Hibbert and when Hibbert leaves the floor, I could stick him on David West," Vaughn said. "That's unbelievable conditioning by himself, drive that he has. ... He's continuing to improve and I'm extremely proud of him."

With four of their next five games at home, Davis said he hopes his team takes advantage of their surroundings.

"We've got to protect home court definitely," he said. "And to be home gives you a level of comfort. At the same time, we're not really trying to be comfortable. We're trying to win games. We're behind. We lost a lot of games. We've gotta go and kind of catch back up."

NOTES: Vucevic now leads Orlando with 20 double-doubles this season. ... Magic PG Jameer Nelson was presented with a game ball by team CEO Alex Martins and general manager Rob Hennigan to commemorate the new, all-time team assists mark he set last week at Portland. ... C Gustavo Ayon missed his sixth straight game with a right thigh bruise. ... Pacers coach Frank Vogel said it will still be a few weeks before F Danny Granger returns from a sore left knee that has kept him sidelined all season.

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Follow Kyle Hightower on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/khightower

Notebook: Magic 97, Pacers 86

Dick Scanlon, for NBA.com
Posted Wed Jan 16, 2013 11:19 PM - Updated Wed Jan 16, 2013 11:19 PM

THE FACTS: Nikola Vucevic put up his eighth straight double-double with 16 points and 15 rebounds, leading the Orlando Magic to a 97-86 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

Vucevic, Glen Davis and J.J. Redick got hot late in the first quarter and started a big rally that put the Magic up by 17 points before the end of the half. They led by as many as 22 before winning for only the second time in 13 games.

Davis, starting for the first time since spraining his left shoulder on Dec. 19, scored 11 points in 25 minutes, joining four teammates in double figures.

Paul George scored a game-high 20 points for the Pacers, who were playing their fourth game in five days.

THE STAT: The Magic made 10 of their first 16 3-point shots and finished 12-of-21 (57 percent) against the best 3-point defending team in the NBA. Meanwhile the Pacers made only two of 17 from behind the arc.

QUOTABLE: "I just thought they came out and got what they wanted. They moved the ball well and had us on our heels most of the night. We didn't defend the three-point line well enough. We didn't defend them in terms of getting them out of their flow."
-- Pacers forward David West.

TURNING POINT: Indiana led, 15-8, with 4:49 left in the first quarter when Davis converted a three-point play, starting a 32-8 run over the next 11 minutes that left Orlando with a 17-point lead. The Pacers never again got the lead under double digits until the final minute.

QUOTABLE II: "I played 25 minutes? Felt like 50 minutes. (In the) second half the rust started to come. I felt the rust. I got out of the excitement mode and more into the rust. Got to get back to work."
-- Davis

HOT: Redick nailed four 3-pointers in six tries, including three bombs during the Magic's big rally.

NOT: After making six of their first 11 shots, the Pacers scored only 35 points in the first half.

GOOD MOVE: After calling a foul and signaling for the ball to stay under Indiana's basket early in the second half, referee Haywoode Workman proclaimed: "I'm sorry. I made a mistake." He pointed the other way, having called a foul on Pacers center Roy Hibbert. It's difficult to argue with someone who admits his mistake.

BAD MOVE: Tyler Hansbrough of the Pacers and Andrew Nicholson of the Magic got into a knock-down wrestling duel in the fourth quarter. Both players probably should have been ejected after drawing double personal fouls twice in a span of 65 seconds.

IN THE ARENA: Nelson was honored before the game for having moved ahead of Scott Skiles as Orlando's all-time assists leader.

After six more assists against the Pacers, the nine-year veteran has 2,822.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Vucevic has had nine or more rebounds in 17 straight games and is now third in the league with an 11.2 average.

ROOKIE WATCH: Nicholson tied an NBA record with six fouls in the fourth quarter.

QUOTABLE III: "(Nicholson) is learning about the the NBA. I can't teach those lessons in practice. He's learning how to play versus an extremely physical guy, learning how to fight adversity and how to play with referees on the floor, how to play with poise ... hopefully it'll make him a better ballplayer."
-- Magic coach Jacque Vaughn

NOTABLE: Although the Pacers beat them in a five-game playoff series last spring, the Magic have won nine of the last 10 regular-season meetings. ... The 57 percent shooting from 3-point range was the Magic's best since the second game of the season.

UP NEXT: For the Pacers: Friday vs. Houston, Monday @ Memphis, Wednesday @ Portland. For the Magic: Friday vs. Charlotte, Sunday vs. Dallas, Tuesday @ Detroit.

• Pacers: Granger, Plumlee
• Magic: Ayon, Harrington

• Pacers: Hansbrough
• Magic: Vucevic

• Lead Changes: 1
• Times Tied: 1

• Arena: Amway Center, Orlando, FL
• Officials: #13 Monty McCutchen, #66 Haywoode Workman, #65 Sean Wright
• Attendance: 17499
• Duration: 1:59