Saturday, Nov. 19 at 7:00 PM ET at Gainbridge Fieldhouse
Game Rewind
The final offensive sequence illustrated the effort the Indiana Pacers played with against the Orlando Magic on Saturday.
Down by a point, with 9.6 seconds left in the game, the Pacers’ Aaron Nesmith rose up from a crowd of 7-footers underneath the basket, pulled down an offensive rebound and was fouled. Nesmith then went to the line, hit both of his free throws to push himself to a career-high 19 points, and helped the Pacers (9-6) to a 114-113 victory.
The Pacers have now won four straight games and eight of the last 10 games.
During the season of giving, the Pacers have been at their best when everyone gets a piece of the pie.
Six players scored in double figures for Indiana, which was on a second leg of a back to back, like the Magic (5-12). This season, in games where the Pacers have six players scoring no fewer than 10 points, they’re now 6-0.
The Magic – missing seven players due to injury – started three players over 6-foot-10 in the game, including two players over 7-0 in Bol Bol (7-2) and Mo Bamba (7-0). Magic guard Franz Wagner is 6-10.
Orlando made four of its first five shots off the opening tip – including 3-pointers by Jalen Suggs and Bamba – to lead the Pacers 10-1 just under two minutes in.
Haliburton then got the Pacers’ offense on track, draining a 3-pointer, hitting a midrange jumper and finishing a contested layup at the rim to trim the deficit to 14-12 with 6:30 left in the first quarter.
An 8-0 Magic run put the visitors back up by 10 points by the 3:41-mark, but the Blue & Gold were able to again chip away, cutting it to 28-22 after Aaron Nesmith hit a trey and rookie Bennedict Mathurin drained two 3-pointers – including one leaning in at the top of the arc at the buzzer – by the end of 12 minutes.
In the opening frame, Orlando shot 11-for-23 (4-for-10 3-point) while Indiana went 8-for-20 from the field (4-for-13 3-point). Haliburton led all scorers with seven points.
The Pacers brought the score within a point at 35-34 with 8:23 left in the first half, but the Magic responded with a 11-2 run behind two dunks from Bamba with 4:35 on the clock.
Out of a timeout, the Pacers again got back on track going on a 9-1 run on two 3-pointers from Buddy Hield. Haliburton then at the buzzer got nothing but net on a half-court heave, but the Pacers 55-51 at halftime.
At the break, Haliburton and Bamba were the only two players scoring in double-digits, both scoring 13 points.
The Magic shot 22-for-52 (6-for-17) and the Pacers shot 18-for 45 (8-for-22 3-point) in the first half. In the paint, the Magic outscored the Pacers 24-18.
While Hield opened the second half with a 3-pointer, the Magic strung together a 7-0 scoring streak to go up 63-54 on five points by Wagner.
Like clockwork, the Pacers responded, making it a one possession game at 70-68 at the halfway mark after a trey by Jalen Smith and a fastbreak from Haliburton.
From the 4:08 to 2:06 in the third quarter, the fieldhouse was rocking as the Pacers went on a 10-0 run, behind two 3-pointers from Nesmith, a hook shot by Smith and alley-oop dunk from Mathurin, to take an 87-77 lead.
At the end of 24 minutes, the Pacers led 89-84 after outscoring the visitors 38-29 on 15-for-22 shooting (7-for-14 3-point) in the third quarter.
The Magic took advantage of some cold Pacers shooting midway through the fourth quarter, going on a 10-0 run on five points by Bol and a 3-pointer from R.J. Hampton, to retake the lead 101-98 with 5:33 left in the game.
After Haliburton reentered the game, the Pacers went on a 9-2 run, with fivep points by him and four by Turner, as the Pacers led with 3:37 on the clock.
The teams battled back-and-forth down the stretch, including two late 3-pointers from Wagner, with the Pacers coming up with the clutch win.
On top of Nesmith’s 19 points, Haliburton had 22 points and 14 assists, Turner had 20 points and 11 rebounds. Other double-digit scorers included Hield (15), Smith (14) and Mathurin (12). Turner has now recorded a double-double in five-straight games, with six overall, while Haliburton has nine double-doubles.
Wagner topped the Magic with 29 points, Bol scored 22 and Bamba finished with 21.
From the field, the Pacers shot 41-for-90 (18-for-46 3-point) while the Magic made 39 of 91 (16-for-42). The Pacers won the rebounding battle 42-41 but lost the turnover margin 15-9 after recording 11 turnovers in the first half.
The two teams will play again Monday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Up Next
The Pacers host their second straight game against Franz Wagner and the Orlando Magic on Monday, Nov. 21 at 7:00 PM ET Find Tickets >>