Game Rewind: Pacers 112, Magic 117

The Indiana Pacers went 9-3 in the month of February, but they began March the same way they ended January — with a loss to the Orlando Magic.

Orlando (30-34) rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to beat the Pacers (42-22) on Saturday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, 117-112.

"This hurts me to say, but they wanted it more," Pacers point guard Darren Collison said after the loss. "It just seemed like they got all the 50-50 balls...They out-physicaled us down the stretch. It's just unacceptable on our part."

Terrence Ross, who went off for what was then a season-high 30 points in the Magic's Jan. 31 win over Indiana in Orlando, scored 16 points in the fourth quarter on Saturday to lead Orlando to victory and back into playoff position in the Eastern Conference.

The Pacers, meanwhile, temporarily fell percentage points behind Philadelphia for third place in the East, but moved back a half-game in front of the Sixers later on Saturday when Philadelphia lost to Golden State.

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"They played like they're trying to get a playoff spot and we didn't play up to (the level) where we usually play," co-captain Thaddeus Young said.

The Pacers fell into an early hole on Saturday. Jonathan Isaac hit two 3-pointers as Orlando opened the contest with 10 unanswered points and an Evan Fournier three shortly thereafter gave the visitors a 13-2 lead.

But the Pacers quickly clawed their way back, with Myles Turner leading the way. Just two days after battling early foul trouble and managing just three points in a win over Minnesota, the 6-11 center racked up eight points in the first seven minutes on Saturday, capped off by one of the plays of the year.

After catching a pass from Collison in the pick-and-roll at the free throw line, Turner took a step into the middle of the lane and rose up for an ambitious dunk attempt. He somehow delivered, rising up over Isaac and literally throwing the ball through the rim with his right hand.

Indiana tied the game at 19 on Bojan Bogdanovic's 3-pointer with 4:26 left in the opening frame and took its first lead at the 2:56 mark on a pair of free throws from Collison. The game headed into the second quarter tied at 27.

The score remained tied at 42 before the Pacers went off on a 13-5 run, capped by a Collison 3-pointer, to take an eight-point lead, and took a 60-55 advantage into the break.

Bogdanovic scored 10 points in the third quarter, helping the Blue & Gold extend their lead to as many as 10. Orlando slowly chipped away that margin, trimming its deficit to 87-83 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Magic opened the final frame with an 8-3 run, thanks in large part to two Terrence Ross 3-pointers, the latter of which gave the visitors a one-point lead with 10:36 remaining.

"We've had this conversation probably three out of the last five games," Pacers head coach Nate McMillan said. "We've got to get back to calm in big situations, especially the fourth quarter where emotions are high. You've got to be able to calm yourself down and be clear about what it is you need to do out there."

The two teams traded the lead four times over the next four minutes, with Orlando eventually using a 7-1 run to take a 104-99 lead with 5:46 to play.

A Bogdanovic triple got the hosts back within two, but a Nikola Vucevic free throw and back-to-back buckets from Ross extended the margin to seven.

Indiana cut the margin to four after Wesley Matthews was fouled on a 3-pointer and hit all three shots with 1:54 remaining, only for Ross to match him on the opposite end.

The game appeared to be over, but Collison buried a 3-pointer with 35.4 seconds left and then Young stole the ensuing inbounds and dished to Matthews for a quick bucket that made it a 114-112 game with 29.7 seconds remaining.

The sellout crowd at The Fieldhouse rose to its feet, only to have their newfound hope quickly dashed as Evan Fournier buried a game-sealing three with 8.4 seconds to play.

"I think we could have defended it a little bit better," Young said about the fateful play. "We should have switched the screen-and-roll, but we didn't for whatever reason and he got a shot off."

Bogdanovic had a team-high 25 points in the loss, while Collison added 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting and 10 assists.

Fellow starters Young (13 points, six rebounds, and five assists), Matthews (12 points, five rebounds, and four assists), and Turner (10 points, six rebounds, and four blocks) all reached double figures, as did Cory Joseph, who scored 14 points off the bench.

Vucevic led Orlando with 27 points on 11-of-19 shooting and eight rebounds. Ross finished with 23 points, while Fournier added 19 points, five boards, and eight assists.

The Pacers will conclude a three-game homestand on Tuesday against Chicago before hitting the road for eight of their next 11 contests.

Photo Credit: Jessica Hoffman

Collison matched his season high in points, tying a mark he set on Dec. 4 against Chicago, and recorded his sixth double-double of the season in the loss.

Bogdanovic has now scored 20 or more points in four straight and 11 of his last 14 games.

Orlando outscored Indiana 54-48 in the paint.

Despite his strong start, Turner scored just two points after the 5:17 mark in the first quarter, though he did add four blocks to increase his NBA-leading total.

Ross' 16 points in the fourth quarter came on 5-of-9 shooting from the field, 2-of-5 from 3-point range, and 4-of-4 from the free throw line.

Both teams limited their turnovers, as Orlando had just nine and Indiana committed only 11 giveaways.

The Pacers lost for just the second time all season when scoring 110 or more points. They are now 27-2 when reaching that mark, with their only other loss being a 111-110 defeat in Sacramento on Dec. 1.

The Magic outrebounded Indiana 11-3 on the offensive glass and outscored the Pacers 20-5 in second-chance points.

"I thought we got out-scrapped tonight. We gave up eleven offensive rebounds. Some of those long rebounds that they were beating us to led to a couple threes. Part of it is forcing them to shoot contested shots but it's about recovering to the paint, rebounding the ball." -McMillan

"I think we've been a little more inconsistent on the defensive end. I don't think it's something we have to worry so much about. I think the biggest thing is that we need to have the sense of urgency and understand that every team we play right now is playing for something." -Collison

"The biggest thing is that we just have to continue to just play through anything whether we are making shots or not, just continue to keep that hustle and fire every night." -Young

"He doesn't need much room. He mixed it up well, they were very much locked into him. I thought he did a good job moving without the ball. He made some pick-and-roll baskets, too, which were big." -Magic head coach Steve Clifford on Ross

"I was basically just trying to get some air space. I wasn't thinking two or three, I was just thinking a jump shot was coming. I had the look I liked." -Fournier on his game-clinching shot

The Pacers finish a three-game homestand by hosting Zach LaVine and the Chicago Bulls at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Tuesday, March 5 at 7:00 PM ET. Find Tickets »