Matchup
T.J. Warren and the Pacers are rolling so far in Orlando.
After dropping a career-high 53 points in Saturday's win over Philadelphia, Warren was nearly as good in Monday's second seeding game, a 111-100 win over Washington on Monday afternoon. The Pacers' leading scorer scored 23 of his game-high 34 points in the second half, recorded his first double-double as a Pacer, and blocked a career-best four shots in the win over the Wizards.
Warren has now scored a staggering 87 points over two games, almost singlehandedly covering up how shorthanded the Blue & Gold have been. All-Star forward Domantas Sabonis remains out indefinitely with plantar fasciitis, starting point guard Malcolm Brogdon missed Saturday's game with a neck strain, and two-time All-Star Victor Oladipo sat out Monday's contest as a precaution as he is still not medically cleared to play in back-to-backs due to his surgically repaired right knee.
Oladipo should be back on the court on Tuesday, however, when the Pacers (41-26) take on the Orlando Magic (32-35) to complete their back-to-back. Oladipo's return gives the Pacers more scoring threats should the Magic defense start to key heavily on the red-hot Warren.
Orlando entered the restart in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, jockeying with Brooklyn (currently a half-game back) for playoff position.
The Magic boast a number of capable offensive threats and are 2-0 so far in the bubble. Evan Fournier had 24 points and Nikola Vucevic added 22 in a win over Brooklyn, then Terrence Ross (25 points on 5-of-9 3-point shooting), Vucevic (23 points and 11 rebounds), and Aaron Gordon (22 points) all surpassed the 20-point plateau in Sunday's win over Sacramento.
Projected Starters
Malcolm Brogdon
Aaron Holiday
Victor Oladipo
T.J. Warren
Myles Turner
D.J. Augustin
Evan Fournier
James Ennis III
Aaron Gordon
Nikola Vucevic
Pacers: PG - Malcolm Brogdon, SG - Aaron Holiday, SF - Victor Oladipo, PF - T.J. Warren, C - Myles Turner
Magic: PG - D.J. Augustin, SG - Evan Fournier, SF - James Ennis III, PF - Aaron Gordon, C - Nikola Vucevic
Injury Report
Pacers: Goga Bitadze - questionable (sore left knee), Jeremy Lamb - out (torn ACL, left knee), Domantas Sabonis - out (plantar fasciitis, left foot)
Magic: Al-Farouq Aminu – out (torn right meniscus), Jonathan Isaac - out (torn left ACL)
Last Meeting
Nov. 23, 2019: Aaron Holiday hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 8.7 seconds left off a dish from his brother Justin to lift Indiana to a 111-106 win over Orlando at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Aaron finished with 13 points, four rebounds, and four assists, while Justin added 12 points, three boards, six assists, and two steals off the bench in the victory. Domantas Sabonis led Indiana with 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting, nine rebounds, and four assists.
Evan Fournier led Orlando with 26 points in the loss, while Jonathan Isaac added 25 points and nine rebounds, going 10-for-16 from the field and 4-for-6 from 3-point range.
Noteworthy
- With a win on Tuesday, the Pacers would sweep the season series with the Magic for the third time in the last four seasons. Indiana also won in Orlando on Nov. 10 and at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Nov. 23.
- Pacers guard T.J. McConnell was teammates with Magic guard Markelle Fultz in Philadelphia from 2017-19.
- Magic point guard D.J. Augustin was a member of the Pacers team that reached the 2013 Eastern Conference Finals.
Broadcast Information TV & Radio Listings »
TV: FOX Sports Indiana - Chris Denari (play-by-play), Quinn Buckner (analyst), Jeremiah Johnson (studio host)
Radio: 93.5/107.5 FM/1070 AM The Fan - Mark Boyle (play-by-play), Pat Boylan (studio host)