Game Rewind: Pacers 115, Magic 129

Friday, April 11 at 7:00 PM ET at Gainbridge Fieldhouse

Game Recap

In their final home game of the regular season, the Pacers (49-32) fell to the Orlando Magic (41-40), 129-115.

Both teams elected to rest their starters on Friday with their postseason destinies largely fulfilled.

The Magic, who are locked into the seventh seed and will take part in the Play-In Tournament, held out Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Wendell Carter Jr.

The Pacers, who were on the second night of a back-to-back and had already secured homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs, were without their entire starting five of Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, and Myles Turner.

Friday's loss cemented the Pacers as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. They also now know they will face the Milwaukee Bucks in a best-of-seven series that will begin next weekend, as Milwaukee secured the fifth seed with a victory on Friday night in Detroit.

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Quenton Jackson scored seven points off the bench and T.J. McConnell added six for Indiana in an opening frame that featured five ties and five lead changes and ended with the score knotted at 29.

Rookie guard Johnny Furphy brought the entire bench to its feet in the second quarter, driving into the lane and rising up for a vicious right-handed jam over former Pacer Goga Bitadze.

"I thought I started the game off pretty slow," Furphy said of what led to the dunk. "Just not as aggressive as I wanted to be. We came out of the timeout and one of the coaches came up to me and said he thinks I’ve got another level to get to, another gear. So I just went out and tried to be as aggressive as possible."

But aside from Furphy's slam, the second quarter was all Orlando, as the visitors surged ahead quickly, outscoring the Pacers 43-20 in the frame, building a lead as large as 29 points before Indiana showed some life just before halftime with a 10-4 spurt.

But the Magic squashed any comeback hopes shortly after the break, opening the third quarter with a 17-5 run that pushed the margin to 35.

Orlando took a 109-76 lead into the fourth quarter and cruised to a comfortable victory.

Eight Pacers reached double figures on the night.

Bennedict Mathurin led Indiana with 20 points and eight rebounds on the night, going 5-for-17 from the field but 9-for-13 from the free throw line. Second-year wing Jarace Walker tallied 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting (2-of-3 from 3-point range) and eight boards.

Furphy finished with a career-high 17 points, six rebounds, and three assists in a career-high 32 minutes. Jackson scored 13 points off the bench, fellow reserve Tony Bradley had 10 points and nine rebounds, and RayJ Dennis scored a career-best 10 points. Starters T.J. McConnell (12 points and three assists) and Thomas Bryant (10 points and four boards) also reached double figures.

Former Pacer Trevelin Queen had a career-high 25 points for the Magic off the bench, going 9-for-10 from the field and 5-for-5 from 3-point range. Fellow reserve Anthony Black added 21 points, six rebounds, and seven assists.

The Pacers will close out the regular season on Sunday in Cleveland. Their first round playoff series with the Bucks will begin at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on either Saturday, April 19 or Sunday, April 20.

Inside the Numbers

Mathurin reached 20 points for the 23rd time this season.

Walker has reached double figures in seven of his last nine games.

Dennis, playing in his 10th career game, reached double figures for the first time.

Orlando's 43 points in the second quarter and 72 points in the first half were both season highs by a Pacers opponent.

Queen's 25 points were eight more than his previous career high.

You Can Quote Me On That

“He’s just a pure competitor. Everything about him is pure. Doesn’t have a selfish bone in his body. Does everything hard, does everything with the right spirit. Tonight he was obviously a bright spot in this game, just with the activity, the running, the dunks…His overall vibe is a winning vibe.” -Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle on Johnny Furphy

“It definitely was a big adjustment. These are grown men. It was something that I really had to think about…just trying not to back down, just trying to hit first, that sort of thing. As I continue to grow and my body starts to feel out, I think that’s going to become a lot easier for me.” -Furphy on adjusting to the physicality of the NBA

“I feel comfortable out there. I can feel that my teammates trust me, my coaching staff trusts me. It’s just continuing to get that time in, continuing to be comfortable out there, and just continuing to play my game.” -Walker on his strong recent stretch of play

“It’s my work. I get in every day, before after, just getting my shots up. It’s just consistency because if you do that day in and day out, it’s going to get more comfortable with the more reps you get. I feel like the main thing is reps, even when you don’t feel like it, after a back-to-back…just continuing to work.” -Walker on his improved shooting

“RayJ is another very easy player to like. He’s got a very positive, upbeat spirit. He’s resourceful, he’s unselfish, he’s tough. And he did a lot of things to get the (margin) down to some kind of a reasonable number in the fourth quarter.” -Carlisle on RayJ Dennis

“They’re great. They’ve got two of the best players in the world. We’re all too familiar with how lethal they are as a team. And they’ve gotten better this year. They’ve got more depth, they’ve got more shooting, more size, better defense. Many challenges.” -Carlisle on the challenges the Bucks present in the first round

Stat of the Night

Furphy reached double figures for the second time in his NBA career. Playing in his 49th game, he set career highs for points (14), field goals made (six), assists (three), and minutes (32).

Noteworthy

• The Pacers finished the year 6-8 when playing on the second night of a back-to-back.
• Second-year guard Ben Sheppard missed his fourth straight game with a left great toe sprain. Head coach Rick Carlisle said that they were hopeful Sheppard could play Sunday in Cleveland.
• Former Pacer Lance Stephenson had a courtside seat for Friday's game and received a loud ovation when he was recognized on the video board during the second quarter.
• Friday was Fan Appreciation Night presented by Kroger. The entire Pacers roster autographed mini balls and tossed them to fans following the conclusion of the game.

Up Next

The Pacers close out the regular season in Cleveland against the Cavaliers on Sunday, April 13 at 1:00 PM ET.

Tickets

The Pacers will host Game 1 of their first round playoff series with the Milwaukee Bucks at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on either Saturday, April 19 or Sunday, April 20. The game date and time will be announced in the coming days. Find Tickets >>