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Game Rewind: Pacers 106, Magic 99

Game Recap

With two minutes remaining and leading by just two points, George Hill got loose on a fast break. It appeared Magic forward Channing Frye attempted to intentionally foul Hill to stop the break, but Hill, who was looking healthy as can be in his second game back from injury, burst towards the basket and slammed it in with his right hand to put the Pacers up four. He looked towards the Indiana bench and screamed as if to say: the streak ends now.

From there, the Pacers (16-30) cruised to a 106-99 victory over the Orlando Magic (15-32) at the Amway Center behind Hill’s timely buckets, and Damjan Rudez’ career-high 18 points, 16 of which came in the final frame. With the win, Indiana put an end to its seven game losing streak.

"(Rudez) and George Hill really just stepped up, those two guys in particular," Pacers head coach Frank Vogel said, "but really that whole group in the fourth quarter."

The Pacers trailed the Magic to start the fourth quarter, missing their first five shots from the field. But down nine with 7:39 remaining, the Pacers caught fire. On four successive possessions, Indiana hit three 3-pointers, and on the final one, Rudez drove the baseline and slammed it with his left hand to tie the game at 90. The eruption triggered an 11-0 Pacers run in which Indiana led the Magic by as many as four points.

For much of the game, the lead swung back and forth, changing hands 10 times throughout the contest. But Indiana’s torrid shooting (52 percent from the field) in tandem with outrebounding the Magic 47-33 was the perfect recipe to snap the Pacers’ skid. David West led all Pacers with 20 points, and Hill was close behind with 17 (in just 20 minutes of play). Hibbert was the game’s leading rebounder with 13.

The Magic led by as many as nine points in the fourth quarter, keyed by an impressive offensive outpouring from center Nikola Vucevic, who had a game-high 27 points on 11-of-17 shooting. But Indiana was able to limit the league-leader in double-doubles to seven boards, while holding the team as a whole to just three offensive rebounds. Victor Oladipo had an impressive performance as well, scoring 18 points.

"We were trying to make sure we kept two bodies on Vucevic because he is one of the best rebounders in the league," David West explained. "We were making sure that Oladipo and those guys weren’t getting those crashes. We talked about that yesterday and this morning and executed what we talked about doing."

As the Pacers finally dribbled out to clock to simultaneously put to bed their seven game stretch of losses and their five-game road trip, the team celebrated jubilantly.

”It’s just a sign of how badly we wanted it,” Rudez told Fox Sports Indiana's Jeremiah Johnson after the game. “We all gotta stick together in tough times, and hopefully this will be a turning point for us.”

Inside the Numbers

Damjan Rudez’ 18 points—16 of which came in the fourth—were both career highs for the 28-year-old rookie.

Indiana’s 51.8 percent shooting was its highest of the season.

For just the third time this season, the Pacers defeated an opponent in a game in which Indiana trailed entering the fourth quarter.

Ian Mahinmi has now recorded 10 or more rebounds in six games this season. He had reached that plateau six times in his entire career before this season.

You Can Quote Me On That

"We just had some break downs defensively and I think you can clearly look at it. We are up nine and give an open three to Damjan Rudez in front of their bench, transition defense and that kind of started three or four more threes to follow." -Magic head coach Jacque Vaughn

"It’s just getting back to having fun. Enjoying the game. Working hard, and believing in one another. It’s been a tough year for all of us. You need more than one win, but it certainly feels good and it certainly feels good to see those guys in there having fun." -Pacers head coach Frank Vogel

"We needed a victory. We looked at our record before the game and we just sat back and said ‘Wow, we are a way better team than our record shows and we just have to turn things around.’ We needed a little bit of luck and a little bit more effort. One shot, one loose ball, sometimes it is enough to turn things in your favor. Let’s just hope this victory will help us get rolling now and we aren’t going to stop." -Damjan Rudez on his big game

"We just haven’t been getting many breaks. The ones(Rudez) didn’t hit he had a couple of misses that were in and out that we experienced the other night. We just needed some of those shots to go in and thankfully they did tonight." -David West on shots falling

Noteworthy

  • Rodney Stuckey recorded six assists in the game, one of which put him over 2000 for his career
  • Indiana has now won seven of the last eight regular season meetings with Orlando
  • George Hill has now scored in double-figures in every game he has played this season
  • Six Pacers scored in double-figures, including four of the five starters

Stat Of The Night

Indiana has now shot 50 percent or better from the field in four of the seven games that George Hill has played this season. They have only hit 50 percent once this season without Hill in the lineup.

Up Next

The Pacers return to Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Tuesday to host Kyle Lowry and the Toronto Raptors at 7 PM. Good seats still remain for that game. Reserve your seats now: Find Tickets »