Related Images
Final: Indiana Pacers 115, Orlando Magic 109
December 7, 2007 - Amway Arena
Box Score |
Play-By-Play |
Postgame Quotes |
Recap |
Video |
Photos
By Nick Adams | OrlandoMagic.com
RECAP
The Magic led by as many as 15 points in the second half and held a lead going into the final period but were unable to close out a victory as they fell to the Indiana Pacers 115-109 at Amway Arena.
Danny Granger had a season-high 27 points and Jamaal Tinsley contributed 20 points and 10 assists while leading seven double figure scorers for Indiana (10-10).
Dwight Howard tallied 30 points and 15 rebounds while Rashard Lewis added 24 points in the Magic's losing effort.
The Magic did not take good care of the basketball committing 24 turnovers resulting in 32 Pacer points.
The Pacers outscored the Magic 61-47 in the second half due in large part to their 11-of-20 shooting from beyond the arc.
Orlando (16-5) will look to bounce back on Monday night as they face division foe the Atlanta Hawks at Amway Arena.
FOURTH QUARTER
Indiana starts the final period strong with five straight points giving them an 89-87 advantage, their first since late in the first quarter. Hedo ends the Pacer run and ties the ballgame with a pair of free-throws.
Lewis finishes on a sweet pass from Arroyo as the Magic regain the lead at 91-89 and Mo Evans tips in a Turkoglu miss the following Magic possession. Marques Daniels gets fouled and count the basket drawing a timeout with the Magic ahead 93-91 with 8:34 left in the game.
Daniels converts the three-point play and the Magic lead is one. Jeff Foster gives the Pacers back the lead with an easy lay-in and Tinsley gets back-to-back hoops increasing the Pacer lead to five at 98-93. Timeout Van Gundy with 7:02 to go.
The Magic's play out of the timeout was to isolate Howard in the post and it works as Howard is fouled by O'Neal sending Dwight to the line. Dwight splits the pair. Tinsley is on fire as he nets a three from the top of the key giving the Pacers their biggest lead at 101-94.
The Magic have gone stone cold and the Pacers can't miss. Orlando is shooting 2-for-9 this quarter and is forced to take another timeout with the Pacers controlling a nine point lead with 5:38 left.
Dwight rebounds a Nelson three-point miss and immediately gets hacked sending him to the line. He converts on both cutting the Pacer lead to seven. The Magic desperately need a stop this time down the floor.
The Magic foul O'Neal and he splits a pair from the line. The Magic can't buy a hoop as Lewis and Turkoglu get two great looks at three-pointers but can't knock one down. They need a spark and they need it fast as the Pacers lead 104-96 with four minutes to go.
Jermaine O'Neal drains a jumper but Dwight answers with a dunk plus a foul sending him to the line for the 16th time tonight. He converts and chants of D-FENSE from the Amway crowd get silenced by a Granger three-pointer. Howard is called for a goal tend and Orlando calls a timeout as the Amway crowd slowly heads for the exits. Indiana leads 111-99 with 2:42 remaining.
Lewis comes up big with a three-pointer which cuts the lead to nine with two minutes to go. Nelson gets a layup and the lead is down to seven with one and a half left. Hedo turns over the ball with a chance to cut it to a two possession game with under a minute remaining as the Pacers will head to the line from here on out.
Daniels misses a pair from the line and Lewis converts on two at the other end cutting the Pacer lead down to 111-106 with 38 seconds left.
The Magic quickly foul Tinsley who heads to the line and makes both pushing the Pacer lead back to seven. Hedo misses a three and Daniels gathers the loose ball and is quickly fouled. Daniels misses both again. Nelson gets blocked on his way to the hoop and the Pacers gain possession with 10 seconds remaining.
Tinsley makes two from the line and the Pacers end the Magic's winning streak with a 115-109 victory.
Final: Indiana Pacers 115, Orlando Magic 109
THIRD QUARTER
Both teams start the second half with their starting lineups as Howard gets fouled after attempting to follow-up a missed shot. He splits the pair of free-throws giving the Magic a nine point advantage.
Jermaine O'Neal scores a hook and Danny Granger gets an easy transition bucket but Dwight answers with a dunk. Lewis continues his good shooting night as he hits back-to-back threes increasing the Magic lead to its largest of the game at 71-58. Lewis is shooting 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.
What a great play between Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson as the two force a turnover and lead the break passing back and forth resulting in an easy layup by Nelson.
The Magic are working the pick-and-roll game to perfection as Dwight sets the high screen for Nelson who rolls off and has the option to shoot, pass to a rolling Howard to the basket, or dish to a rotating Lewis at the top of the three-point circle. The team runs it so well and puts a lot of pressure on the opposing defense forcing them to pick their poison.
Dwight two-hand dunks on two Indiana defenders but the Pacers answer with back-to-back buckets from Jermaine O'Neal and Danny Granger to cut the Magic lead to 77-68 with 6:34 to go in the third.
The pace of the game has slowed down considerably as both teams are feeding their big men in their half court sets. Tinsley nails a three and the Pacers have quietly creeped back within four points at 78-74 with 3:30 to go in the quarter.
Dwight is getting pounded down low and heads to the line where he converts on two from the charity stripe. The Magic get a much needed stop which leads to a three-point play opportunity for Keith Bogans. Bogans converts and pushes the Magic lead back to nine at 83-74.
Brian Cook strokes a triple from the top of the key bringing the Amway crowd back to their feet as the Magic lead 86-74.
Granger quiets the crowd with back-to-back threes and the pace of the game is back to where it was in the first half, mainly because both Howard and O'Neal have checked out and both teams are going with small lineups.
The Pacers string together some hoops and have fought their way back only trailing by two points. Redick splits a pair from line and the Magic cling to a 87-84 lead.
End of Third: Orlando Magic 87, Indiana Pacers 84
SECOND QUARTER
The Magic start the second quarter off strong with a highlight reel alley-oop dunk from Maurice Evans and a three-pointer from Keith Bogans to increase their lead to 37-30.
Evans drains a three from the corner and Bogans follows with another triple the next time down the floor forcing Indiana coach Jim O'Brien to take a timeout as the Magic have increased their lead to double digits at 44-34.
Coach O'Brien drew up a play to get Jermaine O'Neal isolated on the block and it works to perfection as O'Neal throws in a hook. O'Neal keeps the momentum going by stroking a 18 foot jumper from the wing cutting the Pacer deficit to six points at 44-38.
Maurice Evans strings together consecutive buckets to push the lead back to double digits. Evans has equalled Indiana's points off the bench with his 9 points in 8 minutes.
Evans new nickname as deemed by my supervisor Matt Gardner is "Skittles" for his high arcing shot which tastes the rainbow, so everytime Evans has scored I turn to Matt and yell "Skiiiiiiittles". Let's see if it catches on.
J.J. Redick enters the game to the pleasure of the Amway crowd and specifically all the 13 year-old girls in attendance. Howard gets an easy lay-in and then swats a shot to Apopka bringing the Amway crowd to their feet. The crowd really gets rowdy as Lewis nails a three from the corner forcing an Indiana timeout with the Magic ahead 57-48 with 2:38 to go in the half.
Howard dunks on a nice feed from Lewis giving the Magic three players in double figures to Indiana's none. Howard, Lewis, Bogans all have 11 points and Turk and "Skittles" have nine each.
Dwight throws down a one handed monster dunk on a nice feed from J.J. to end the half with the Magic leading 62-54.
Halftime: Orlando Magic 62, Indiana Pacers 54
FIRST QUARTER
Welcome back to Amway Arena as we greet the 16 win Orlando Magic back home for tonight's matchup against the Indiana Pacers. Tonight's tip-off features two superstar big men who came straight out of high school as Jermaine O'Neal wins the opening tip against Dwight Howard.
Jeff Foster scores the first points of tonight's game but the Magic get a three-pointer from Hedo Turkoglu thanks to some great ball movement and take an early 3-2 advantage.
Rashard Lewis strokes a three from the top of the key to increase the Magic lead to 7-2. A good sign for Magic fans as Rashard didn't hesitate in stroking his first shot attempt. Indiana's leading scorer Danny Granger puts in a layup cutting the Magic lead to 7-4 three minutes into tonight's ballgame.
As expected...the pace of the game is very fast as Rashard nets his second basket in as many attempts nailing an 18 foot jumper. Jameer steals a Pacer pass and goes coast to coast for an easy lay-in giving the Magic a 13-6 lead.
Jeff Foster and Howard trade dunks and Van Gundy stops the game for the first time with the Magic leading 15-10 with 7:48 left in the opening period.
Bogans nails a triple from the corner and the Magic have made their first three attempts from beyond the arc. The Pacers answer with a three of their own and string together a couple layups to cut the Magic lead to one at 18-17.
Hedo ends the Pacer run with his trademark running finger roll in the lane. Troy Murphy comes off the bench for the Pacers and makes his presence felt drilling a three-pointer as Indiana regains the lead at 21-20.
Lewis answers with a pair of free-throws and Nelson gets another steal and takes it coast-to-coast for an easy lay-in putting the Magic back ahead 24-21.
Dwight scores a hook shot on two Indiana defenders as the Pacers have just been hounding him down low. Nelson takes advantage of the Pacers' focus on Dwight by driving through the lane for an easy bucket.The two hook up the next time down as Nelson feeds Howard to a pretty alley-oop which Dwight throws down plus a foul. Timeout Pacers.
Dwight converts the three-point play and gives the Magic a 31-24 lead with just under two minutes left in the first.
The Magic have shot the ball well to start the game converting on just over 60 percent of their shot attempts. The Pacers make four straight points, all from the free-throw line, to end the quarter but the Magic still lead 32-28.
End of the First: Orlando Magic 32, Indiana Pacers 28
TIP-OFF
Tonight's game against the Pacers may not seem like a challenge for the Magic on paper but I believe it will be a good test to see how good this team really is. The Magic have had a remarkable start to their season and their band-wagon is at full capacity plus they've had a couple of days to listen to the hype and think about what they are accomplishing. So...the big test tonight is to mentally come out and take it to a team they should beat at home.
The mood around the locker room has been really loose but the players have said that they want to come out and play hard for the home fans of Orlando. In past Magic year's, I would have been worried about this game, but with coach Van Gundy keeping the team focused and hungry, I think they will come out and take care of business.
SHOOTAROUND
The 16-4 Magic entered Friday morning's shootaround looking to continue their solid play against the 9-10 Pacers at Amway Arena.
Despite their losing record, the Pacers are a better team than what their record indicates and head coach Stan Van Gundy is congnizant of that fact.
"They create a lot of problems," stated Van Gundy. "Jamaal Tinsley is a very hard player to guard, they play 6-8' and 6-9' at the two spot, and they have Jermaine O'Neal coming back."
O'Neal has been the Pacer's perennial all-star and franchise player since he arrived in Indiana in 2000 but a knee injury has hindered his play this season averaging 14.9 points and 8.2 rebounds.
However, O'Neal's knee is getting stronger with each game and he is coming off three straight double-double performances including a 30 point, 11 rebound showing in his last contest.
Indiana head coach Jim O'Brien knows how vital O'Neal is to his team and their chances of winning against the Magic. "It would be like the Magic losing Dwight Howard," said O'Brien. "Our team is pretty much built around Jermaine O'Neal and he is going to play a big role in helping us beat Orlando."
O'Brien continued with his team's keys to victory, "We have to make sure we move our feet and that we go after Dwight Howard when he gets the ball in the low post to try and limit the number of dunks he gets. We have to make sure we are aggressive in guarding their pick and rolls and rotating out to their three-point shooters."
O'Brien closed by saying, "I am not at all surprised as to how well the Magic are playing."
A big part of the reason for the Magic's early success is how well they have gelled given new players and Van Gundy's new system.
Van Gundy reiterated that same point and also pointed out how the team has no margin for error.
"We have come together very quickly and the concern for me now is that if we relax for one second it will really hurt us in this league," said Van Gundy. "We haven't really gone out and blown teams out and we have really have just found ways at the end of the game to win so our margin for error is very small."
Perhaps a possible margin of error against Indiana is that the Magic may come into the game overconfident facing a team with a losing record in front of their home crowd, but Van Gundy has issued the team in that regard.
"The guys are getting confident having done so well on the road and then they get a couple of days off and play at home so they may think it is going to be easier," Van Gundy stated. "We have made it very clear to them that this will not be an easy game by any stretch of the imagination."
PREGAME
The Magic return to Amway Arena looking to build off their successful road trip as they square off Friday night against the Indiana Pacers.
The Pacers come into the game with an overall record of 9-10 and a 5-4 record on the road.
Like the Magic, Indiana is led by a first year head coach who has brought a new up-tempo style to their new clubs. Coach Jim O'Brien has his Pacers ranked eight in the NBA in scoring at 103.0 points per game, one place behind the seventh rank Magic who are averaging 104.5 points per contest.
Indiana's up-tempo style has allowed six Pacer players to average double figures in scoring this season led by small forward Danny Granger at 17.5 points per game.
Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy has a lot of respect for coach O'Brien and Indiana's new brand of basketball.
"Coach O'Brien is one of the best coaches in the league and his teams have always been good defensively," Van Gundy stated. "He always has his teams prepared and playing with a great deal of confidence."
Van Gundy continued, "They are emphasizing the three-point shot and they are given them a lot of freedom at the offensive end of the floor. They look completely different than they did a year ago, and they are not as structured but they still defend the ball really well."
The Pacers are among the top defensive teams in the entire league holding their opponents to just 43 percent shooting from the field, good enough for third best in the NBA. The Magic are second in that same category holding their opponents to just under 43 percent.
Indiana not only forces teams to miss shots but they also do a great job of rebounding those misses as the Pacers lead the entire NBA in team rebounding at 46.5 rebounds per game.
The Magic will look to reduce the number of Pacer rebound opportunities as Orlando aims to improve their impressive 16-4 record.
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:
Dec. 7 vs. Indiana (Orlando, FL): Orlando is 29-38 all-time vs. Indiana (19-14 at home, 10-24 on the road) during regular season action, including 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 six of the last 11 matchups overall...Orlando has won three of the last four meetings at home, but lost the last four 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.
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)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| PACERS | 28 | 26 | 30 | 31 | 115 |
| MAGIC | 32 | 30 | 25 | 22 | 109 |
By Nick Adams | OrlandoMagic.com
RECAP
The Magic led by as many as 15 points in the second half and held a lead going into the final period but were unable to close out a victory as they fell to the Indiana Pacers 115-109 at Amway Arena.
Danny Granger had a season-high 27 points and Jamaal Tinsley contributed 20 points and 10 assists while leading seven double figure scorers for Indiana (10-10).
Dwight Howard tallied 30 points and 15 rebounds while Rashard Lewis added 24 points in the Magic's losing effort.
The Magic did not take good care of the basketball committing 24 turnovers resulting in 32 Pacer points.
The Pacers outscored the Magic 61-47 in the second half due in large part to their 11-of-20 shooting from beyond the arc.
Orlando (16-5) will look to bounce back on Monday night as they face division foe the Atlanta Hawks at Amway Arena.
FOURTH QUARTER
Indiana starts the final period strong with five straight points giving them an 89-87 advantage, their first since late in the first quarter. Hedo ends the Pacer run and ties the ballgame with a pair of free-throws.
Lewis finishes on a sweet pass from Arroyo as the Magic regain the lead at 91-89 and Mo Evans tips in a Turkoglu miss the following Magic possession. Marques Daniels gets fouled and count the basket drawing a timeout with the Magic ahead 93-91 with 8:34 left in the game.
Daniels converts the three-point play and the Magic lead is one. Jeff Foster gives the Pacers back the lead with an easy lay-in and Tinsley gets back-to-back hoops increasing the Pacer lead to five at 98-93. Timeout Van Gundy with 7:02 to go.
The Magic's play out of the timeout was to isolate Howard in the post and it works as Howard is fouled by O'Neal sending Dwight to the line. Dwight splits the pair. Tinsley is on fire as he nets a three from the top of the key giving the Pacers their biggest lead at 101-94.
The Magic have gone stone cold and the Pacers can't miss. Orlando is shooting 2-for-9 this quarter and is forced to take another timeout with the Pacers controlling a nine point lead with 5:38 left.
Dwight rebounds a Nelson three-point miss and immediately gets hacked sending him to the line. He converts on both cutting the Pacer lead to seven. The Magic desperately need a stop this time down the floor.
The Magic foul O'Neal and he splits a pair from the line. The Magic can't buy a hoop as Lewis and Turkoglu get two great looks at three-pointers but can't knock one down. They need a spark and they need it fast as the Pacers lead 104-96 with four minutes to go.
Jermaine O'Neal drains a jumper but Dwight answers with a dunk plus a foul sending him to the line for the 16th time tonight. He converts and chants of D-FENSE from the Amway crowd get silenced by a Granger three-pointer. Howard is called for a goal tend and Orlando calls a timeout as the Amway crowd slowly heads for the exits. Indiana leads 111-99 with 2:42 remaining.
Lewis comes up big with a three-pointer which cuts the lead to nine with two minutes to go. Nelson gets a layup and the lead is down to seven with one and a half left. Hedo turns over the ball with a chance to cut it to a two possession game with under a minute remaining as the Pacers will head to the line from here on out.
Daniels misses a pair from the line and Lewis converts on two at the other end cutting the Pacer lead down to 111-106 with 38 seconds left.
The Magic quickly foul Tinsley who heads to the line and makes both pushing the Pacer lead back to seven. Hedo misses a three and Daniels gathers the loose ball and is quickly fouled. Daniels misses both again. Nelson gets blocked on his way to the hoop and the Pacers gain possession with 10 seconds remaining.
Tinsley makes two from the line and the Pacers end the Magic's winning streak with a 115-109 victory.
Final: Indiana Pacers 115, Orlando Magic 109
THIRD QUARTER
Both teams start the second half with their starting lineups as Howard gets fouled after attempting to follow-up a missed shot. He splits the pair of free-throws giving the Magic a nine point advantage.
Jermaine O'Neal scores a hook and Danny Granger gets an easy transition bucket but Dwight answers with a dunk. Lewis continues his good shooting night as he hits back-to-back threes increasing the Magic lead to its largest of the game at 71-58. Lewis is shooting 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.
What a great play between Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson as the two force a turnover and lead the break passing back and forth resulting in an easy layup by Nelson.
The Magic are working the pick-and-roll game to perfection as Dwight sets the high screen for Nelson who rolls off and has the option to shoot, pass to a rolling Howard to the basket, or dish to a rotating Lewis at the top of the three-point circle. The team runs it so well and puts a lot of pressure on the opposing defense forcing them to pick their poison.
Dwight two-hand dunks on two Indiana defenders but the Pacers answer with back-to-back buckets from Jermaine O'Neal and Danny Granger to cut the Magic lead to 77-68 with 6:34 to go in the third.
The pace of the game has slowed down considerably as both teams are feeding their big men in their half court sets. Tinsley nails a three and the Pacers have quietly creeped back within four points at 78-74 with 3:30 to go in the quarter.
Dwight is getting pounded down low and heads to the line where he converts on two from the charity stripe. The Magic get a much needed stop which leads to a three-point play opportunity for Keith Bogans. Bogans converts and pushes the Magic lead back to nine at 83-74.
Brian Cook strokes a triple from the top of the key bringing the Amway crowd back to their feet as the Magic lead 86-74.
Granger quiets the crowd with back-to-back threes and the pace of the game is back to where it was in the first half, mainly because both Howard and O'Neal have checked out and both teams are going with small lineups.
The Pacers string together some hoops and have fought their way back only trailing by two points. Redick splits a pair from line and the Magic cling to a 87-84 lead.
End of Third: Orlando Magic 87, Indiana Pacers 84
SECOND QUARTER
The Magic start the second quarter off strong with a highlight reel alley-oop dunk from Maurice Evans and a three-pointer from Keith Bogans to increase their lead to 37-30.
Evans drains a three from the corner and Bogans follows with another triple the next time down the floor forcing Indiana coach Jim O'Brien to take a timeout as the Magic have increased their lead to double digits at 44-34.
Coach O'Brien drew up a play to get Jermaine O'Neal isolated on the block and it works to perfection as O'Neal throws in a hook. O'Neal keeps the momentum going by stroking a 18 foot jumper from the wing cutting the Pacer deficit to six points at 44-38.
Maurice Evans strings together consecutive buckets to push the lead back to double digits. Evans has equalled Indiana's points off the bench with his 9 points in 8 minutes.
Evans new nickname as deemed by my supervisor Matt Gardner is "Skittles" for his high arcing shot which tastes the rainbow, so everytime Evans has scored I turn to Matt and yell "Skiiiiiiittles". Let's see if it catches on.
J.J. Redick enters the game to the pleasure of the Amway crowd and specifically all the 13 year-old girls in attendance. Howard gets an easy lay-in and then swats a shot to Apopka bringing the Amway crowd to their feet. The crowd really gets rowdy as Lewis nails a three from the corner forcing an Indiana timeout with the Magic ahead 57-48 with 2:38 to go in the half.
Howard dunks on a nice feed from Lewis giving the Magic three players in double figures to Indiana's none. Howard, Lewis, Bogans all have 11 points and Turk and "Skittles" have nine each.
Dwight throws down a one handed monster dunk on a nice feed from J.J. to end the half with the Magic leading 62-54.
Halftime: Orlando Magic 62, Indiana Pacers 54
FIRST QUARTER
Welcome back to Amway Arena as we greet the 16 win Orlando Magic back home for tonight's matchup against the Indiana Pacers. Tonight's tip-off features two superstar big men who came straight out of high school as Jermaine O'Neal wins the opening tip against Dwight Howard.
Jeff Foster scores the first points of tonight's game but the Magic get a three-pointer from Hedo Turkoglu thanks to some great ball movement and take an early 3-2 advantage.
Rashard Lewis strokes a three from the top of the key to increase the Magic lead to 7-2. A good sign for Magic fans as Rashard didn't hesitate in stroking his first shot attempt. Indiana's leading scorer Danny Granger puts in a layup cutting the Magic lead to 7-4 three minutes into tonight's ballgame.
As expected...the pace of the game is very fast as Rashard nets his second basket in as many attempts nailing an 18 foot jumper. Jameer steals a Pacer pass and goes coast to coast for an easy lay-in giving the Magic a 13-6 lead.
Jeff Foster and Howard trade dunks and Van Gundy stops the game for the first time with the Magic leading 15-10 with 7:48 left in the opening period.
Bogans nails a triple from the corner and the Magic have made their first three attempts from beyond the arc. The Pacers answer with a three of their own and string together a couple layups to cut the Magic lead to one at 18-17.
Hedo ends the Pacer run with his trademark running finger roll in the lane. Troy Murphy comes off the bench for the Pacers and makes his presence felt drilling a three-pointer as Indiana regains the lead at 21-20.
Lewis answers with a pair of free-throws and Nelson gets another steal and takes it coast-to-coast for an easy lay-in putting the Magic back ahead 24-21.
Dwight scores a hook shot on two Indiana defenders as the Pacers have just been hounding him down low. Nelson takes advantage of the Pacers' focus on Dwight by driving through the lane for an easy bucket.The two hook up the next time down as Nelson feeds Howard to a pretty alley-oop which Dwight throws down plus a foul. Timeout Pacers.
Dwight converts the three-point play and gives the Magic a 31-24 lead with just under two minutes left in the first.
The Magic have shot the ball well to start the game converting on just over 60 percent of their shot attempts. The Pacers make four straight points, all from the free-throw line, to end the quarter but the Magic still lead 32-28.
End of the First: Orlando Magic 32, Indiana Pacers 28
TIP-OFF
Tonight's game against the Pacers may not seem like a challenge for the Magic on paper but I believe it will be a good test to see how good this team really is. The Magic have had a remarkable start to their season and their band-wagon is at full capacity plus they've had a couple of days to listen to the hype and think about what they are accomplishing. So...the big test tonight is to mentally come out and take it to a team they should beat at home.
The mood around the locker room has been really loose but the players have said that they want to come out and play hard for the home fans of Orlando. In past Magic year's, I would have been worried about this game, but with coach Van Gundy keeping the team focused and hungry, I think they will come out and take care of business.
SHOOTAROUND
The 16-4 Magic entered Friday morning's shootaround looking to continue their solid play against the 9-10 Pacers at Amway Arena.
Despite their losing record, the Pacers are a better team than what their record indicates and head coach Stan Van Gundy is congnizant of that fact.
"They create a lot of problems," stated Van Gundy. "Jamaal Tinsley is a very hard player to guard, they play 6-8' and 6-9' at the two spot, and they have Jermaine O'Neal coming back."
O'Neal has been the Pacer's perennial all-star and franchise player since he arrived in Indiana in 2000 but a knee injury has hindered his play this season averaging 14.9 points and 8.2 rebounds.
However, O'Neal's knee is getting stronger with each game and he is coming off three straight double-double performances including a 30 point, 11 rebound showing in his last contest.
Indiana head coach Jim O'Brien knows how vital O'Neal is to his team and their chances of winning against the Magic. "It would be like the Magic losing Dwight Howard," said O'Brien. "Our team is pretty much built around Jermaine O'Neal and he is going to play a big role in helping us beat Orlando."
O'Brien continued with his team's keys to victory, "We have to make sure we move our feet and that we go after Dwight Howard when he gets the ball in the low post to try and limit the number of dunks he gets. We have to make sure we are aggressive in guarding their pick and rolls and rotating out to their three-point shooters."
O'Brien closed by saying, "I am not at all surprised as to how well the Magic are playing."
A big part of the reason for the Magic's early success is how well they have gelled given new players and Van Gundy's new system.
Van Gundy reiterated that same point and also pointed out how the team has no margin for error.
"We have come together very quickly and the concern for me now is that if we relax for one second it will really hurt us in this league," said Van Gundy. "We haven't really gone out and blown teams out and we have really have just found ways at the end of the game to win so our margin for error is very small."
Perhaps a possible margin of error against Indiana is that the Magic may come into the game overconfident facing a team with a losing record in front of their home crowd, but Van Gundy has issued the team in that regard.
"The guys are getting confident having done so well on the road and then they get a couple of days off and play at home so they may think it is going to be easier," Van Gundy stated. "We have made it very clear to them that this will not be an easy game by any stretch of the imagination."
PREGAME
The Magic return to Amway Arena looking to build off their successful road trip as they square off Friday night against the Indiana Pacers.
The Pacers come into the game with an overall record of 9-10 and a 5-4 record on the road.
Like the Magic, Indiana is led by a first year head coach who has brought a new up-tempo style to their new clubs. Coach Jim O'Brien has his Pacers ranked eight in the NBA in scoring at 103.0 points per game, one place behind the seventh rank Magic who are averaging 104.5 points per contest.
Indiana's up-tempo style has allowed six Pacer players to average double figures in scoring this season led by small forward Danny Granger at 17.5 points per game.
Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy has a lot of respect for coach O'Brien and Indiana's new brand of basketball.
"Coach O'Brien is one of the best coaches in the league and his teams have always been good defensively," Van Gundy stated. "He always has his teams prepared and playing with a great deal of confidence."
Van Gundy continued, "They are emphasizing the three-point shot and they are given them a lot of freedom at the offensive end of the floor. They look completely different than they did a year ago, and they are not as structured but they still defend the ball really well."
The Pacers are among the top defensive teams in the entire league holding their opponents to just 43 percent shooting from the field, good enough for third best in the NBA. The Magic are second in that same category holding their opponents to just under 43 percent.
Indiana not only forces teams to miss shots but they also do a great job of rebounding those misses as the Pacers lead the entire NBA in team rebounding at 46.5 rebounds per game.
The Magic will look to reduce the number of Pacer rebound opportunities as Orlando aims to improve their impressive 16-4 record.
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:
Dec. 7 vs. Indiana (Orlando, FL): Orlando is 29-38 all-time vs. Indiana (19-14 at home, 10-24 on the road) during regular season action, including 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 six of the last 11 matchups overall...Orlando has won three of the last four meetings at home, but lost the last four 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.
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)
