GameNight SpecificsNBA Coverage: Game InfoDate: Wednesday, Jan. 26Time: 7 p.m.Location: Conseco Fieldhouse (Indianapolis, IN)Radio: AM 580 WDBO, AM 1270 WRLZTelevision: Sun Sports
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GAME RECAP
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Dwight Howard had 19 points and 16 rebounds to help the Orlando Magic beat the Indiana Pacers 111-96 on Wednesday night.
Jason Richardson had 19 points and nine rebounds, Hedo Turkoglu scored 18 points and Ryan Anderson added 14 for the Magic, who made 16-of-34 3-pointers and shot 50 percent from the field. Orlando has won four of its past five games, but was coming off a home loss to Detroit on Monday.
Danny Granger scored 27 points for the Pacers, but he shot 6 for 19 from the field. Darren Collison added 21 points for Indiana, which lost its sixth straight.
Indiana made just 8-of-30 3-pointers. The Pacers tied for their worst home loss, matching their 15-point defeat on Dec. 15 against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Orlando made seven 3-pointers in the second quarter to open up a close game. The Magic shot 59 percent in the first half and led 62-48 at the break. Orlando shot 72 percent in the second quarter and outscored the Pacers 38-27.
Indiana opened the second half with a 3-pointer by Mike Dunleavy, but the Magic regained momentum with an alley-oop pass from Turkoglu to Howard for a power jam that gave the Magic a 69-53 lead. Orlando stretched its lead to 23 points midway through the quarter and led 86-72 at the end of the period.
Indiana opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer by Granger, sparking a 7-0 run that cut Orlando's lead to 86-79.
Turkoglu stopped the run with a three-point play that pushed the Magic's lead back to 10 points with 8:39 to play. A 3-pointer by Jameer Nelson gave Orlando a 94-79 lead and caused the Pacers to call a timeout.
Indiana closed within 11, but Richardson made two 3-pointers to extend Orlando's lead to 103-86.
NOTES: The Pacers observed a moment of silence for Indianapolis metro police officer David Moore, who died Wednesday after being shot Sunday during a traffic stop. ... Orlando's Gilbert Arenas drained 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter to give Magic 24-21 lead. ... The Magic waived point guard Jason Williams on Wednesday. He appeared in just 16 games this season and averaged 2.1 points and 1.5 assists. ... Indiana G Brandon Rush sprained his left ankle in the third quarter and did not return. ... The triumph marked Stan Van Gundy’s 200th career win with Orlando.
DENTON'S ANALYSIS AT PACERS
INDIANAPOLIS – This beating that the Indiana Pacers took Wednesday night at the hands of the Orlando Magic was the equivalent of a prize fight where the punches were coming from all directions.
First, Dwight Howard worked over the body with his muscle and power on the inside. Later, the Magic landed one haymaker after another in the form of 3-pointers than rained in from all corners of Conseco Fieldhouse. And finally, the Magic finished off the teetering Pacers with a knockout punch in the fourth quarter.
And with the Magic’s 111-96 demolition of Indiana complete, there was finally some time for levity when head coach Stan Van Gundy took an errant Pacers’ pass off the forehead and he briefly faked being woozy. It was the only shot to the noggin’ the Magic took all night.
The victory was the 200th for Van Gundy since he became the Magic’s coach before the 2007-08 season. He’s 200-92 in three-plus seasons, giving him the best winning percentage (.685) in franchise history. Van Gundy was more eager to talk about the pass that hit him in the head than notching a landmark victory.
``It’s a basketball and not a baseball, so I think I’ll be OK,’’ Van Gundy said with a chuckle. ``I think (the Pacers) thought that I was a 3-point shooter open in the corner and tried to pass the ball to me.’’
The NBA leaders in 3-pointers made connected on 16 trifectas and got 19 points, 16 rebounds and three blocked shots from Howard on the inside to bury the reeling Pacers. It allowed the Magic (30-16) to bounce back from a frustrating loss against Detroit on Monday night and start this two-game roadtrip with a bang.
Hedo Turkoglu (18 points) and Jason Richardson (19 points) finished strong and Ryan Anderson (14 points) got the Magic off to a strong start with more torrid shooting. The Magic’s defense, an issue in Monday’s loss, left something to be desired at times Wednesday night, but they covered up with it with their stellar shooting from the outside.
The 16 3-pointers were the most the Magic have made since pouring in 19 back on Dec. 28 in a rout of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Orlando leads the NBA in 3-pointers made (439) and attempted (1,170). The Magic have made 152 more 3-pointers than their competition this season.
``I think it’s our shooting that makes us so hard to guard,’’ said Anderson, who has scored in double digits in 11 straight games now. ``With our four-out, one-in style, so much of what we do is around Dwight on the inside and rolling to the rim. It’s pick your poison with us. If Dwight has it going inside it’s hard to get out on all of the shooters that we can put out on the floor.’’
Here’s a look back at what went right, what went wrong and some final observations from the Magic’s bounce-back win in Indianapolis:
READ THE REST OF DENTON'S ANALYSIS
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