Game Rewind: Pacers 98, Magic 88

The Indiana Pacers have now won four in a row after knocking off the Orlando Magic at the Amway Center on Wednesday night, 98-88.

Behind a strong performance from the second unit in the final period, Indiana led 89-80 midway through the fourth, setting up the starters to close it out. And though the Magic did get within five with just under two minutes to play, sharpshooter C.J. Miles drilled his fourth 3-pointer of the night to give Indiana a 96-88 lead, closing the door on any comeback attempt by Orlando.

Miles' 14 second half points and 24 combined points by the bench's Al Jefferson and Glenn Robinson III helped keep a Magic team that was down for the majority of the contest at bay.

"I just wanted to come out in the third and try to insert myself in the game and not press," Miles told Fox Sports Indiana's Jeremiah Johnson after the game. "I was able to get a couple open looks. The way we had them spread out, I kept finding spots."

The Pacers' offense was in sync in the early going. Indiana made six of its first eight shots to jump out to a 14-6 lead with 8:03 left in the opening quarter. The lead grew to 18-6 before the Magic answered back.

The home team went on 12-4 run to cut the deficit to four, 22-18. Indiana would hang on to win the period, though, as it ended the quarter shooting 60 percent from the floor to take a 28-23 lead into the second.

In the second quarter, it looked like the Pacers had broken the game open. Robinson III paced the second unit with seven points, and his free throws with 6:54 left pushed Indiana’s lead to 11. Not long after, Myles Turner sank a 3-pointer to give the Pacers a 47-32 advantage with 6:04 left in the half.

But the Magic responded down the stretch of the first half, eventually fighting the rest of the quarter to eventually cut Indiana's lead down to nine heading into the locker room.

Orlando got within six early in the second half, but Indiana quickly snuffed out the rally with a Miles triple. That was followed with a Paul George free throw after a technical foul by Magic head coach Frank Vogel pushed Indiana’s lead back up to 12 with 7:50 left in the third quarter.

But Orlando kept fighting back. By the 5:00 mark, Indiana’s lead was down to seven, then five, 72-67 with 3:30 left in the quarter. When the third was over, the Magic had outscored Indiana 27-24 and trailed by just six, 80-74, heading into the final period, where the visitors were able to hold on.

Miles finished as Indiana's leading scorer with 16 points. Jeff Teague played well, racking up 13 points and nine assists. Robinson III ended with 14 points and seven rebounds off the bench.

For Orlando, Serge Ibaka had 20 points and nine rebounds. Nikola Vucevic ended with a double-double, scoring 15 points and pulling down 15 rebounds.

C.J. Miles led Indiana in scoring with 16 points. He was a steller 4-of-5 from beyond the arc and helped Indiana make nine of its 20 long range attempts (45 percent).

”We won the game” -Paul George

Lavoy Allen, Al Jefferson and Monta Ellis had the team's best +/- rating, finishing the contest +7.

The Pacers are now 7-2 this season when Glenn Robinson III scores in double figures.

The Indiana Pacers head to the Barclays Center to take on the Brooklyn Nets. Tip-off is set for 7:30 PM ET.

The Pacers return to Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Saturday, Feb. 4 to host Andre Drummond and the Detroit Pistons at 7:00 PM ET. Find Tickets »