Game Rewind: Pacers 109, Magic 102

Despite their continued bout with injuries, Indiana (6-4) picked up its third win in a row and sixth in the last seven games. The Blue & Gold traveled to the Sunshine State for their single-game road trip, and emerged with a 109-102 victory over the Orlando Magic (3-7) at Amway Arena on Sunday night.

Continuing their balanced scoring effort from their most recent game against the Pistons, six Pacers players, including four of five starters, finished the game in double figures. Domantas Sabonis led the way, posting his sixth double-double of the season with 21 points and 16 boards, while T.J. Warren and Malcolm Brogdon finished with 19 apiece.

Coming into the game with the league’s worst field goal shooting (41.4) and 3-point shooting (26.5) percentage, the Magic tallied 60 first-half points on 26-of-47 (55.3 percent) shooting, including 8-of-13 (61.5 percent) from deep to take a 60-51 lead into halftime. However, the Pacers held Orlando to just 17 points on 5-of-16 (31.2 percent) shooting in the third to take an 81-77 lead heading into the final frame. T.J. McConnell’s six early fourth-quarter points and a clutch 3-pointer from Malcolm Brogdon with 19.9 seconds left in the game allowed the Pacers to never relinquish the lead again.

Indiana started the game on 7-of-12 (58.3 percent) shooting to keep pace with the Magic early. A 3-pointer from Evan Fournier with 6:21 in the first pushed the Magic ahead 19-15 for the first lead larger than one possession by either team. It forced Pacers head coach Nate McMillan to call a timeout to stop the momentum from building.

Later, A McDermott 3-pointer from the left wing off a low screen, followed by a late driving layup from McConnell cut two, six-point Magic leads to keep the Blue & Gold within striking distance, 33-29, as the first came to a close. The Pacers finished the first 13-of-26 (50.0 percent) shooting, including 3-of-5 (60.0 percent) beyond the arc.

But, Orlando continued to be on fire from the floor in the second quarter. With 9:13 left in the half, Mohamed Bamba stepped behind the 3-point line and drilled a shot from the right wing to extend the Magic lead to 42-35. He then added a hook shot on the next possession to widen the margin to nine.

Soon after, Aaron Holiday and Sabonis scored five straight points to cut the deficit to 46-45 with 6:17 remaining. But the onslaught continued from the Magic. Using a 12-2 run, including two more 3-pointers, over the next three minutes, Orlando quickly climbed to a 58-47 lead with 3:17 left to play in the half.

But Sabonis’ layup with 49.5 seconds left in frame off Brogdon’s sixth fist-half assist proved crucial. The Blue & Gold had managed to keep the halftime deficit to just single digits after Orlando shot 12-of-21 (57.1 percent) from the field in the second quarter.

This provided the momentum Indiana needed to keep fighting. Coming out of the break, the Blue & Gold scored eight unanswered points on 4-of-5 shooting from four different players to quickly trim the Magic lead to 60-59 with 9:35 remaining in the third. After a Magic timeout, Brogdon’s left-handed driving layup then gave the Pacers their first lead of the game, 61-60, since they led 15-14 at the 6:53 mark in the first quarter.

The ability to shoot the long ball allowed the Pacers to fend off the Magic late in the third. First, with the Pacers trailing 70-68 and 4:39 remaining in the frame, McDermott hit a 3-pointer from the right wing that pushed the Pacers in front 71-70.
Then, after the Magic responded with six straight points to regain a 76-71 lead, Aaron Holiday and McDermott sank back-to-back 3-pointers to Pacers a 77-76 lead with 2:08 to go in the third. Holiday and McDermott finished the game a combined 6-of-13 from 3-point range.

McConnell then provided the spark in the final 1:39 of the quarter, connecting on 2-of-3 attempts to give the Blue & Gold an 81-77 lead heading into the final frame.

His much-needed spark carried over into the early moments of the fourth. He found continued success in the paint, scoring on a driving layup and two jumpers from the low block for six of the Pacers first eight points of the frame.

At the 8:25 mark in the third, the Magic managed to cut the Pacers lead to 87-85 after Aaron Gordon connected on 1-of-2 free throws. However, the Pacers responded with a 12-2 run. Great passes from McConnell at the top of the key allowed Sabonis and Justin Holiday to find easy back-to-back layups to earn a 99-87 lead with 4:22 left in the game.

The Magic rattled off five straight points to cut the lead to 99-92 on a layup from Jonathan Isaac with 3:18 remaining. But Warren’s play over the next 2:09 kept the Magic at a distance. After connecting on two floaters in the paint, Warren drew Magic defenders away from Sabonis by driving left. He then fired a bounce pass to a wide open Sabonis standing just above the free throw line. Sabonis drilled the 18-footer to give the Pacers a 105-94 lead with 1:09 remaining.

Markelle Fultz’s dunk with 40.6 seconds remaining cut the lead to 105-99 and put some pressure on Indiana. But, Brogdon calmly responded with a clutch 3-pointer from the top of the key on the Pacers’ next possession to make the score 108-99 with 19.9 seconds remaining.

With the Magic forced to foul, Sabonis connected on 1-of-2 free throws to put the game out of reach for good.

Indiana tallied 31 assists, marking the second time this season the Pacers have dished out 30 or more assists in a game.

The Pacers outrebounded Orlando 44-37.

Indiana committed just nine turnovers, marking the third time this season that they’ve finished a game with fewer than 10.

“He (Coach McMillan) kind of woke us up a little bit…he kind of came at us at halftime, and we responded really well especially at the start of the third quarter, and our bench just kind of rallied around them.” – Doug McDermott on what changed at halftime.

“Well they ran some perimeter pick-and-rolls, which hurt us. Listen, he is an attacking, aggressive guy who found his seams and gaps in the defense he hit a bunch of pull-up jumpers.” – Magic head coach Steve Clifford on the effectiveness of T.J. McConnell

“I think our guys are doing a good job of taking what the defense gives. What we talk about is getting organized—if we don’t have anything early, a good look or layup, we want to get organized and execute our offense. Those guys have been doing a really good job at doing that. We did that in the third quarter and was able to gain the lead and pull away. Again, it is a credit to all of our guys. These guys are getting opportunities and they all are trying to take advantage of that. I thought (TJ) Leaf gave us some good minutes tonight. I thought Aaron (Holiday) gave us good minutes. T.J. (McConnell), Alize (Johnson), all of those guys were coming in and playing — they're giving us good minutes and it was another team win." – Pacers head coach Nate McMillan on T.J. McConnell shooting the ball well and opponent’s defense allowing him to shoot open shot

After allowing 60 first-half points to the Magic, the Pacers outscored Orlando 30-17 in the third quarter.

Jack's Donuts: Visit your local Jack's Donuts the day after a Pacers victory and mention the Pacers win to receive a free 12-ounce coffee or donut with any purchase. Visit JacksDonuts.com to find the Jack's Donuts nearest you.

The Pacers return to Bankers Life Fiedhouse to host Chris Paul and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 7:00 PM ET. Find Tickets »