The Orlando Magic and Indiana Pacers will square off for the second time in 10 days when they meet on Wednesday in Indianapolis.
The Magic took the first matchup 119-115 on Oct. 28 in Orlando behind a historic performance from forward Paolo Banchero.
His 50 points marked the first time a Magic scorer reached the half-century mark since Tracy McGrady in March 2004, and he fell just one assist shy of becoming only the seventh player in NBA history with a triple-double in a 50-plus-point game.
Orlando has hit hard times since the win over Indiana, however, losing Banchero to a torn right oblique that will sideline him for several weeks. Monday was the Magic’s third game without Banchero and their fourth consecutive loss, a 102-86 setback at undefeated Oklahoma City.
Franz Wagner led Orlando with 22 points and Jalen Suggs scored 19 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished six assists. Goga Bitadze returned from a five-game absence due to a foot injury to record his best game of the season with 11 points and nine rebounds.
Wagner, Suggs and Bitadze were the only three Magic scorers in double figures, however, and Orlando failed to reach 90 points for a second consecutive game. The Magic managed only 85 points the previous night in a 23-point loss at Dallas.
Orlando has failed to score 100 points in three of its four losses during the current skid.
“You cannot control if that ball goes in the basket, but you’ve got to make sure you continue to get the right looks and shoot with confidence,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “We talk about attacking the basket (and generating free throws). We’re doing the right thing there.”
And indeed, while Orlando’s 42.2 percent field-goal percentage ranks No. 27 in the NBA entering Tuesday, the Magic are sixth in free-throw attempts per game at 26.4. Against the Pacers last week, Orlando got to the foul line for 38 attempts — though Banchero was responsible for 22.
Indiana’s prior loss to the Magic, meanwhile, capped a three-game slide for the Pacers. They have since won two of three after Monday’s 134-127 win at Dallas.
The 134 points marked Indiana’s most scored in regulation this season. Myles Turner led the way with 30 points and 11 rebounds, while Tyrese Haliburton went for 25 points and 12 assists.
Haliburton, who led the NBA with 10.9 assists per game last season, tallied just 11 across his first three games this year. He has since returned to form, dishing out at least 10 assists in each of his last four games.
All five Indiana starters scored in double figures at Dallas, including Pascal Siakam with 23 points and Bennedict Mathurin with 16. Mathurin has put up a combined 65 points in the Pacers’ last three games, including 30 in a 135-132, overtime win over reigning champion Boston last Wednesday.
With the wins over the Celtics and Mavericks, Indiana heads into Wednesday’s contest boasting victories over both of last season’s NBA Finals participants.
“Our team is gaining experience,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “We had a lot of close road games last year that we were able to win. So our guys are understanding what these kinds of situations are about.”
–Field Level Media