MAGIC: GAMETIME: 03/15/08 vs. Indiana

FINAL: Orlando Magic 122 - Indiana Pacers 111

March 15, 2008 - Amway Arena

	1	2	3	4	F
PACERS	18	35	27	31	111
MAGIC	28	33	30	31	122

By Nick Adams | OrlandoMagic.com

FOURTH QUARTER
The Pacers go on a 11-2 run to begin the fourth and have cut the Magic lead to 93-91 forcing a timeout from a very displeased Stan Van Gundy.

Arroyo finally gets the Magic going by converting a three-point play but Marquis Daniels answers quickly back with a short-range jumper.

The Magic get a huge spark as a Lewis block shot leads to a fast-break alley-oop from Arroyo to Howard who reaches about two feet above the rim to slam down a dunk as the Amway crowd erupts.

The dunk has really ignited the crowd and the Magic as Lewis converts a three-point play to put the Magic ahead 101-93 at the halfway mark in the fourth.

The Pacers score back-to-back hoops to bring them within three but Turk feeds Bogans who nets a big three-pointer from the corner. Travis Diener answers Bogans three with one of his own as the Magic lead is back down to four.

The teams go back-and-forth and Turk feeds Howard for a pretty alley-oop forcing a Pacers' timeout as the Magic lead 110-102 with 3:47 remaining.

It's "Turk Time"...Hedo scores back-to-back buckets to put the Magic firmly ahead by eleven as we head under three minutes. I think we take for granted how good Hedo Turkoglu is, he is a consistant go-to guy in the fourth and has 24 points, four rebounds, and six assists tonight.

The Pacers score four straight but Lewis cans a big triple from the corner and smiles toward the Pacers bench at former teammate Flip Murray as he strolls back on defense.

With the Magic leading by six with 30 seconds left, the Pacers will be fouling from here on out and do so sending Lewis to the line for two...Lewis strokes both.

Turk drills a three at the end of the game as the Magic win and clinch a playoof spot.

Final: Orlando Magic 122, Indiana Pacers 111

THIRD QUARTER
Let's hope the Magic can continue their great shooting from the floor as they shot nearly 68 percent in the first half. Mo Evans keeps the superb shooting going by converting on both of the Magic's first two field-goal attempts of the second half.

The Pacers have quietly gotten right back into this game and a triple by Danny Granger brings them within five points. Lewis answers with back-to-back hoops to put the Magic back ahead 70-61, three and a half minutes into the third period.

Howard gets his own offensive rebound and gets hugged by Jeff Foster, but Dwight's shoulders up two plus the foul. Dwight can't convert from the line but the Magic lead by ten halfway through the third quarter.

The Pacers go on another little run forcing a timeout from Van Gundy as the Magic lead 77-71. The Magic execute the play out of the timeout as Howard gets great position down low and throws in a short jump hook.

What looked like a possible Magic blowout in the first half has turned into a good ballgame as the Pacers have had a solid third period and only trail by seven points with 2:32 left in the quarter.

A great Magic defensive possession leads to a transition opportunity for Mo Evans who gets fouled and heads to the line for two. He splits the pair to put the Magic ahead by ten. Evans comes up big again drilling a three as the quarter concludes.

End of Third: Orlando Magic 91, Indiana Pacers 80

SECOND QUARTER
Turk comes out in the second quarter firing, scoring the Magic's first ten points within the first four minutes of the quarter as the Magic lead by 17 points.

The Magic are absolutely on fire tonight hitting 18-of-24 (75 percent) from the field including a perfect 4-for-4 from downtown.

Cook keeps the hot Magic shooting going by stroking his second trey off the bench to put the Magic ahead 44-30 with seven minutes remaining in the first half. The Magic are playing out of their minds right now as Cook steals a pass and pulls up at the other end for a 15 foot jumper.

Everything is dropping for the Magic as Bogans hits a fadeaway in the lane as the shot clock expires to give the Magic 50-36 lead. Lewis hits another one from beyond the arc as the Magic are very much in control of this game leading 55-40 as we hit the three minute mark.

The Pacers go on a little run and Troy Murphy strokes a three from the top of the key to bring the Pacers within eight points. Arroyo drives to the basket for a layup and Indiana gets two from the charity stripe as the half ends with the Magic leading 61-53.

Halftime: Orlando Magic 61, Indiana Pacers 53

FIRST QUARTER
Good evening Magic fans and welcome to Amway Arena for tonight's weekend match-up as the Magic get ready to face the Indiana Pacers.

The Magic start Jameer Nelson, Mo Evans, Hedo Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis, and Dwight Howard. The Pacers oppose with Flip Murray, Mike Dunleavy Jr., Danny Granger, Troy Murphy, and Jeff Foster. Foster will compete against Howard for tonight's opening tip.

Danny Granger steals a Nelson pass and takes it coast-to-coast for the first points of tonight's game. The Magic start out slow at the offensive end but Howard is doing a solid job at the defensive end blocking two shots within the Pacers first three possessions.

Mo Evans finally scores the first points for the Magic by netting a short-range jumper. Howard scores back-to-back baskets as the Magic trail 8-6, four minutes into tonight's contest.

Turk scores his first points of the night converting on a transition bucket and throws in a running finger-roll in the lane to give the Magic their first lead of the ballgame. Lewis gets into the act scoring back-to-back baskets himself to force an Indiana timeout with the Magic leading 14-9 halfway through the first period.

Evans feeds Nelson for an easy transition layup but Marquis Daniels answers quickly back with a jumper. Cook checks into the game and provides instant offense by canning a triple. Howard throws in his game-high sixth point of the game to give the Magic a 21-11 lead as we head under three minutes left in the quarter.

Bogans comes into the ballgame and makes his presence felt by drilling two from downtown. The quarter ends with the Magic leading by ten points.

End of First: Orlando Magic 28, Indiana Pacers 18

PREGAME
With the clinching of a playoff berth just wins away, the Magic look to inch even closer as they host the 25-39 Indiana Pacers, Saturday night at Amway Arena.

Indiana has their eyes on the playoffs as well; trailing the eighth seeded Atlanta Hawks by just a game and a half.

The match-up features the league's sixth and seventh highest scoring teams as Orlando (104.8 ppg) and Indiana (103.0 ppg) face off for what expects to be a shootout.

The two teams have split two high-scoring games this season with the road team coming up victorious in each of the previous contests.

On February 2nd, their most recent meeting, Dwight Howard tallied 24 points and 12 rebounds in leading the Magic to a 121-115 victory in Indiana. Pacers' small forward Danny Granger led Indiana with a game-high 29 points in the losing effort.

Granger leads the Pacers in scoring at 18.5 points per game and has stepped up against the Magic averaging 28 points against Orlando this season.

Orlando, who just broke the franchise record for three-pointers made in a season, will have a great opportunity to add upon their total against an Indiana squad who surrenders the league's highest opponent three-point field-goal percentage at nearly 39 percent.

The Magic's inside game should also be a key factor as Howard goes up against a smaller, weaker Pacers' front line which has been without the services of star power forward Jermaine O'Neal for most of the season.

Howard has dominated the Pacers averaging 27 points and 13.5 rebounds against Indiana this season.

Anticipate Howard and the Southeast Division leading Magic to come out strong Saturday night as Orlando (43-24) tries to hold onto the third seed in the Eastern Conference.

MAGIC INJURY REPORT
Tony Battie � Out, torn rotator cuff, left shoulder � underwent successful surgery on Oct. 24; will likely miss the entire season.

TONIGHT�S OPPONENT:
Mar. 15 vs. Indiana (Orlando, FL): Orlando is 30-39 all-time vs. Indiana (19-15 at home, 11-24 on the road) during regular season action, including 1-1 this season (see recaps below)�The teams split 2-2 last season...Orlando is 4-6 vs. Indiana in postseason play (4-2 at home, 0-4 on the road, 1994 first round, 1995 Conference Finals)...The Magic have lost seven of the last 13 matchups overall...Orlando has won three of the last five meetings at home, but lost four of the last five trips to Indiana�Assistant Coach Brendan Malone was an assistant with the Pacers for three seasons (2000-03)�For last season�s stats and Magic career numbers vs. Indiana, see p. 253 of the media guide�Dec. 7 vs. Indiana � Pacers 115, Magic 109: Dwight Howard recorded his NBA-leading 17th double-double, chipping in 30 points and 15 rebounds, but it was not enough as the Magic fell 115-109 to the Pacers at Amway Arena. Howard was one of six Magic players to reach double figures in scoring. Rashard Lewis added 24 points, including five three-point field goals. Orlando held a 15-point lead in the third quarter and led by three points going into the final stanza, but the Pacers received contributions across the board in crunch time, with seven players reaching double figures in scoring. Danny Granger paced Indiana with a season-high 27 points, to hand the Magic their first loss of the season when leading after three quarters�Feb. 2 @ Indiana � Magic 121, Pacers 115: Six Magic players scored in double figures, led by Dwight Howard with 24 points and 12 rebounds, as Orlando defeated Indiana, 121-115, at Conseco Fieldhouse. Hedo Turkoglu scored 23 points, including 20 during the second half, while Maurice Evans, Carlos Arroyo and Keith Bogans all scored 16 points. Danny Granger led all scorers with 29 points. Both teams shot well from beyond the three-point arc. Orlando was 14-of-25, while Indiana was 14-of-34 from three-point range. Trailing 60-58 at halftime, the Magic outscored Indiana during the third quarter, 36-25 and led by as many as 12 points during the second half.
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. PACERS: 49 pts., Shaquille O�Neal (@ Indiana, 12-9-93)
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. MAGIC: 38 pts., Jermaine O�Neal (@ Indiana, 1-15-05); Reggie Miller (@ Indiana, 4-2-94; @ Orlando, 4-6-90)