Davis got the Magic off to a fast start with some aggressive play on the inside and Orlando’s shooters did the rest in a thorough 97-86 throttling of the Indiana Pacers – a showing that was arguably Orlando’s best start-to-finish performance of the season.
``This (win) goes up there. When we’re all full throttle, we can play with the best of them,’’ said Davis, referring to the quality of the win against a Pacers team that had won 14 of 18 games before Wednesday. ``So we’ve just got to keep up the good work and make sure we don’t get comfortable. We’ve just got to get back to our winning ways.’’
The Magic (14-24) made 12 of its first 19 3-pointers and led the Central Division-leading Pacers (24-16) by as much as 22 points in the second half. Orlando started a three-game home stand in impressive fashion and snapped a six-game home losing streak.
Orlando had five players in double figures, led by the 16 points and 15 rebounds from steadily blossoming center Nikola Vucevic, who outplayed long-time Magic nemesis Roy Hibbert (11 points and seven rebounds). It was Vucevic’s eighth straight double-double and his 20th of the season.
Arron Afflalo had a nice bounce-back game with 15 points, while Jameer Nelson and J.J. Redick each had 14 points and four 3-pointers. Making his first start since injuring his shoulder on Dec. 19, Davis scored nine of his 11 points in the first quarter before tiring slightly in the second half.
``It feels good to have the majority of our guys back. We’re still missing a few, but it feels good to get back to playing how we’re capable of playing,’’ Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said. ``That’s a real good ball club, Indiana is, so this is a quality win against a team that’s been playing well. I thought our guys did some good things.’’
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