Game Rewind: Pacers 103, Magic 119

Fresh off an impressive win against the Boston Celtics, the Pacers headed to the Sunshine State to take on the Orlando Magic for a pair of games.

Carrying over their play from Sunday, the Blue & Gold started hot from deep, drilling 10 first-half triples. However, signs of back-to-back fatigue began to appear in the third. Indiana shot just 12 times in the stanza as the Magic outscored them 35-19 in the frame. From there, the hosts controlled the game and walked away with a 119-103 victory. Eight Magic (15-47) players finished in double figures.

"It was what got us," Rick Carlisle said of the third quarter. "They picked up their aggression. We had struggles."

Five Pacers (21-42) topped the 10-point mark as the new faces continued their impressive play. Haliburton finished with 23 points and seven assists while Buddy Hield added 18 points and six dimes. Jalen Smith added 14 points and eight boards, but left the game early after receiving consecutive technical fouls in the third quarter.

The Pacers rained in four early treys — two from Smith — to take a 16-7 lead with 7:12 remaining in the first quarter. The defense also started solid, limiting the effectiveness of the Magic’s tall interior with active hands in the paint.

The Pacers maintained a multi-possession lead for the next few minutes. However, the Magic’s youngsters eventually closed the gap. Franz Wagner and Cole Anthony teamed up for easy transition buckets to trim the deficit to 21-19 and force a Pacers timeout with 3:56 left.

Haliburton knocked in the squad’s seventh triple of the frame with 2:30 remaining to break a 24-24 tie. However, Fishers, Indiana native Gary Harris knotted things up again with a three-point play.

Orlando took a brief three-point lead with less than a minute to play. However, the Pacers scored the last four points of the quarter and took a 32-31 edge into the second.

At the 11:19 mark in the second, Markelle Fultz secured a one-point Orlando lead with his first bucket since tearing his ACL over a year ago. But, Indiana responded with seven unanswered, including Smith’s third triple, to regain a 39-33 advantage.

When Orlando cut Indiana’s lead to one, the Blue & Gold mounted a 10-0 run to extend their lead to double digits (49-38) for the first time. Hield and Washington Jr. added to the 3-point party to anchor the spree. Washington sank his shot from 30 feet away.

However, as time ticked down, Orlando began climbing back. A 12-4 run by the hosts – five from RJ Hampton – cut the gap to 53-50 with 2:29 to play.

Despite a late Magic push, Indiana held on to a 56-55 as the first half expired.

An 8-3 Orlando run to start the third quarter pushed the Magic ahead 63-59 with 9:28 remaining. Carter Jr. provided the early firepower, providing six early points for the hosts.

As foul calls mounted for both sides, the pace of play slowed immensely compared to the first half. A few frustrations began to mount on Indiana’s side. After an excellent first half, Smith exited the game early after receiving back-to-back technical fouls. Jalen Suggs’ 16-foot jumper extended Orlando’s lead to 73-64 with 6:28 left. The hosts then added five more over the next 1:08 to extend their lead to double digits (77-64) for the first time.

Trailing 82-67 with 3:20 left, Haliburton and Washington teamed up for five straight to cut the gap to 10. However, the squad failed to trim the deficit further in the period. Orlando pushed the lead back to 15 after Fultz drilled an 18-footer with 11.2 seconds left. Indiana took just 12 shots in the frame and turned the ball over 10 times.

Jackson and Hield provided early hope for Indiana in the fourth quarter. But, Fultz and Harris quickly dashed it with five straight to stretch their advantage to 18 points.

Signs of fatigue began to show, and the Pacers struggled to cut into the lead as the halfway mark approached. A 29-foot snipe by Suggs at the 6:31 mark gave Orlando a 108-90 advantage and forced an Indiana timeout.

Still, Orlando kept up the pressure to hold a comfortable lead. Wagner and Hampton added to their totals, while Carter Jr. secured the paint defensively. By the four-minute mark, it was evident Indiana was running on fumes. A comeback was not in the cards. Orlando stretched its lead to 20 (115-95) with 3:40 left and finished out the game with ease.

Goga Bitadze and Duane Washington Jr. finished as the other Pacers in double figures with 11 points each.

Orlando outscored Indiana in the paint, 54-28.

The Pacers made 10 first-half threes but connected on just five in the second quarter.

Indiana finished 5-of-12 from the field in the third quarter while Orlando shot 11-of-23.

"I think they came out and hit shots early in the third. And we didn't. We didn't get stops. When you're not making shots and not getting stops, that's a recipe for failure. They were the aggressors for the majority of the night, picking us up and getting into us. They definitely followed their game plan the right way." –Haliburton on the third quarter

"I think we just play hard and we just have fun with what we do. I think those are a recipe for success when you do that. Guys are hanging together, and they’re close-knit. So that definitely helps. I think that's going to help us moving forward." –Haliburton on the team's future

Indiana committed 22 turnovers that turned into 22 Magic points. Meanwhile, the Magic committed just 11 turnovers for five Pacers points.

The Pacers and Magic meet again in Orlando on Wednesday, March 2 at 7:00 PM ET.

After a four-game road trip, the Pacers return home to host Caris LeVert and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday, March 8 at 7:00 PM ET. Find Tickets »