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Game Rewind: Pacers 105, Magic 97

Game Recap

Even on heavy legs during the second night of a back-to-back, Indiana's defense summoned the strength to disrupt's Orlando's fast-paced offense, forcing the Magic into 22 turnovers as the Pacers picked up their fourth consecutive victory, a 105-97 win over the Magic.

The 22 turnovers came on a bevy of steals from Indiana, seven of which came from Victor Oladipo, whose 29 points were also a team-high.

"Down the stretch we just got to make the right play," said Oladipo after the win. "That is what we are locked in on doing. Guys are ready to play on both ends of the floor and that is huge for us. We just got to continue to keep doing that."

With both teams in sync offensively during the first half, it was Indiana's defense in the second half which separated the teams as the Pacers (10-8) limited Orlando (8-9) to just 42 points over the final two quarters.

In the fourth quarter, Orlando got its deficit down to just four points, but Indiana's offense found its footing, using 3-pointers from Bojan Bogdanovic and Thaddeus Young to send the Pacers' advantage to 11 points with four minutes remaining.

Things got dicey late as Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier made back-to-back 3-pointers, but Oladipo answered again, canning a jumper and getting fouled from 14 feet out to make it 98-90 with 1:34 left in the contest.

That lead, however, nearly vanished as quickly as it came, with Fournier connecting from deep again and Gordon following it up with a jumper to make it a one possession game with 49 seconds on the clock as Pacers head coach Nate McMillan signaled for the full timeout.

Out of the stoppage, Oladipo spotted Bojan Bogdanovic waiting on the wing, who lifted up and drilled a 3-pointer to push the lead back to six, sealing the win for the red-hot Pacers. Bogdanovic was on fire for the second night in a row, scoring 26 points and canning five 3-pointers during the winning effort.

"The defense held up long enough until some of those shots could start to fall," said McMillan of Bogdanovic's night. "He was red-hot for us. That's part of the reason we've gone to a eight man rotation — to try to get him minutes out on the floor at the four position (power forward)."

Offensively, the Pacers got off to a quick start against the Magic, as Oladipo forced a timeout following a powerful slam after driving straight down the middle to put Indiana up 23-20 with 3:53 left in the first quarter.

While it was Oladipo with the highlight-reel slam, Thad Young's offense was the early story, making his first five shots from the field to help Indiana build a 34-31 first-quarter lead over the hosts.

To open the second quarter, the Magic started to assert control on the game, going on an 11-3 run that was finished by a two-handed slam from Jonathon Simmons on the fastbreak.

The hosts closed out the half in force, pilling up an 11-0 run to grab the five-point lead entering the locker room at the break.

In the third quarter, Oladipo continued to make his mark on the game, sending home a thundering one-handed slam in traffic as part of a 16-3 Pacers run which gave Indiana a 74-68 lead with 2:57 left in the frame.

The Pacers closed the quarter on a whopping 20-7 run, leading 78-72 entering the final period. Oladipo notched nine points in the quarter, as Indiana outscored Orlando 28-17 to grab the six-point lead.

The fourth quarter spelled trouble for Indiana, which entered the game on the second night of a back-to-back, with Orlando winnowing its deficit down to four following an offensive foul on Domantas Sabonis.

The foul was the forward's fifth, sending him to the bench as the Pacers — who had been a made free throw away from a 10-point lead — saw the hosts draw within striking distance on a D.J. Augustin 3-pointer.

With the Magic bearing down, Indiana's offense found success in the big moment, with Thad Young connecting on a 3-pointer and Cory Joseph sailing into the lane for a layup to put Indiana up 90-81.

During the final minutes, Indiana was able to hold off the Magic, outscoring Orlando 27-25 in the fourth quarter of action at the Amway Center.

"We're still going through this growth process," McMillan explained. "Each night we learn something different about ourselves. I think what we're seeing is that guys are stepping up and making plays down the stretch."

Inside the Numbers

Victor Oladipo's seven steals were a career high.

The Pacers forced the Magic into 22 turnovers on the night, while Indiana committed 13.

Indiana outscored the Magic 50-32 in the paint.

Despite a tough night shooting from Darren Collison (2-of-11), the guard passed out eight assists and was a +15 while on the floor.

You Can Quote Me On That

"(Victor Oladipo has) been aggressive. I thought he picked his moments to be aggressive and tried to take advantage of what the defense was giving him. They went to switching one through five and he had some matchups that we felt he could take advantage of. I thought he did a good job of trying to take advantage of those matchups, getting to the basket. He made some big shots." -McMillan on Oladipo

"We are just playing team ball. I like how we have been playing on the defensive end. We are just breaking them down on the defensive end and feeding off of that." -Lance Stephenson

"Yeah, we're trying to play the right way, we're trying to work the guard, trying to play with the pass, trying to run the floor. We're not making a lot of shots right now and obviously we're sloppy with our turnovers." -Magic head coach Frank Vogel

Noteworthy

  • Lance Stephenson tied his season high with 10 rebounds. His six assists was the highest total of his season.
  • Bojan Bogdanovic has now made 18 of his last 27 3-point shots.
  • Pacers head coach Nate McMillan has shortened his rotation to just eight players over the past two games.
  • Oladipo connected on 12-of-14 free throws.

Stat of the Night

The Pacers' 17 steals were just two shy of the franchise record of 19, which was set during a 119-115 win over the Washington Bullets in April of 1984.

Up Next

The Pacers return home to host the Toronto Raptors on Friday, Nov. 24 at 8:00 PM ET. Find Tickets »