Magic Beat Pacers

By on October 15, 2016
Paul George (photo Kim Klement / USA TODAY Sports)

Paul George (photo Kim Klement / USA TODAY Sports)

ORLANDO, FLA. –The Orlando Magic came together for their first win on Friday, beating the Indiana Pacers 114-106. Taking the floor without leading scorer Evan Fournier, the Magic second unit stepped up big time. While the entire starting five registered a negative plus/minus, every member of the bench outscored the Pacers by at least double figures.

Orlando took the lead at around midway through the second quarter, and the formerly defensive team seized control. They would outscore the Pacers 44-23 in the quarter through excellent ball movement and high- IQ basketball. Back up point guard C.J. Watson dished his way to a game-high 10 assists as he set up sharpshooters CJ Wilcox and Damjan Rudez, who both finished at 3-for-5 from beyond the arc.

There was an expected third quarter slump, however, as the Pacers regained their footing. This Magic team showed no signs similarity to last year’s squad, who often relinquished their leads for good in the third period. Watson scored a buzzer-beating layup to shift momentum and draw the Pacer lead back to just three. From there the super subs took care of business.

The fourth quarter was a battle that contained five lead changes, but the high-scoring bench powered the Magic to overcome a three-point deficit in the period and seal off the win well before the final buzzer sounded.

The Magic would go on to hit 12-of-14 threes and made up for their lack of rim protection with shooting prowess. Head coach Frank Vogel summarized this performance, saying “[It was] up and down. It was really, really good at times. Again, I keep seeing what we can be. Not really happy with [giving up] 46 percent and 106 points. “

As for the starters, the first quarter proved that the newly formed team still has some work to do when it comes to functioning as a unit. The starting five committed 10 turnovers in the first period, with each member responsible for at least one.

Though the group failed to come together, several individuals played well. Serge Ibaka showed Magic fans why management made the move to trade for him this offseason, as he netted 19 points and 17 rebounds – both game-highs. The next closest player on either team to Ibaka’s gritty performance on the glass was teammate Bismack Biyombo, who finished with eight rebounds.

Jeff Green also put on a show, scoring 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting including 2-of-4 from downtown. He was every bit the versatile threat that the Magic imagined when they brought him in during free agency. Green physically imposed his will on defense, garnering praise from both Damjan Rudez and Serge Ibaka post game.

“I think Jeff can bring a lot of things to this team,” said Ibaka, “He can play the three and four [position]. Especially on defense, with him, we are more comfortable to switch one, two, three, four, five; you don’t really see that a lot.”

The Magic continue their homestand on Sunday, taking on the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday at 6 P.M.

Pacers
STARTERS MIN FG 3PT FT OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF +/- PTS
T. YoungPF 35 6-13 0-2 3-4 2 6 8 4 4 0 1 2 +7 15
M. TurnerPF 32 7-15 1-1 2-4 1 5 6 1 1 3 0 3 +13 17
P. GeorgeSF 32 5-13 2-6 4-4 0 3 3 3 4 0 3 5 +1 16
J. TeaguePG 34 5-9 2-4 4-6 1 1 2 4 0 1 2 2 +10 16
M. EllisSG 36 6-11 1-2 1-2 0 4 4 6 1 0 2 0 +18 14
BENCH MIN FG 3PT FT OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF +/- PTS
L. AllenPF 9 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 -14 2
G. NiangSF 4 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 -1 0
A. JeffersonC 16 4-10 0-0 1-1 3 3 6 0 0 0 1 1 -21 9
R. StuckeyPG 15 3-8 1-1 1-1 1 1 2 2 1 0 3 1 -20 8
J. YoungPG 11 1-4 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 2 -24 2
G. Robinson IIISG 16 3-4 0-0 1-3 1 4 5 1 1 0 1 2 -9 7
R. ChristmasPF DNP-COACH’S DECISION
J. EvansSF DNP-COACH’S DECISION
A. PoythressSF DNP-COACH’S DECISION
K. SeraphinC DNP-COACH’S DECISION
J. StonePG DNP-COACH’S DECISION
N. ZeisloftSG DNP-COACH’S DECISION
TEAM 41-88 7-16 17-25 9 29 38 22 12 4 13 20 106
46.6% 43.8% 68.0%
Hide Bench

Magic

STARTERS MIN FG 3PT FT OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF +/- PTS
S. IbakaPF 29 7-9 3-3 2-2 5 12 17 1 1 0 2 3 -4 19
A. GordonPF 27 4-9 1-3 6-7 1 5 6 1 2 0 3 2 -5 15
N. VucevicC 27 3-8 0-0 1-2 0 2 2 4 0 1 5 4 -4 7
E. PaytonPG 30 4-13 0-2 3-4 0 0 0 1 4 0 4 5 -12 11
M. HezonjaSG 30 2-5 0-1 2-2 1 3 4 1 0 0 3 3 -18 6
BENCH MIN FG 3PT FT OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF +/- PTS
D. RudezSF 18 4-6 3-5 0-0 0 4 4 5 0 0 0 1 +15 11
J. GreenSF 23 5-11 2-4 4-5 1 0 1 0 1 0 2 3 +10 16
B. BiyomboC 21 3-6 0-0 3-4 2 7 9 1 0 2 2 2 +12 9
C.J. WatsonPG 18 4-6 0-1 0-0 2 2 4 10 1 0 4 1 +20 8
C.J. WilcoxSG 17 4-6 3-5 1-2 0 4 4 0 3 0 0 1 +26 12
C. AlexanderPF DNP-COACH’S DECISION
A. OnuakuPF DNP-COACH’S DECISION
B. DawsonSF DNP-COACH’S DECISION
S. Zimmerman Jr.C DNP-COACH’S DECISION
D.J. AugustinPG DNP-COACH’S DECISION
K. MurphySG DNP-COACH’S DECISION
N. JohnsonSG DNP-COACH’S DECISION
J. MeeksSG DNP-COACH’S DECISION
TEAM 40-79 12-24 22-28 12 39 51 24 12 3 25 25 114
50.6% 50.0% 78.6%
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