The Orlando Magic (27–15) never lost the lead and bounced the visiting Indiana Pacers (14–28) 109–98 at Amway Arena on Wednesday night.
The Superman theme song played frequently throughout the arena as Dwight Howard had a season high 32 points including 16 from the foul line. He also pulled in 11 rebounds for a double-double. Forward Danny Granger led the Pacers with 25 points.
The win broke Orlando’s three-game losing streak during a rough stretch on the road, including a tough 98–92 loss against the league-leading Los Angeles Lakers on Monday.
Orlando also lost to Indiana on the road earlier in the month, with big man Roy Hibbert scoring 26 points to Dwight Howard’s 11.
“It won’t happen again,” Dwight Howard said before Wednesday night’s game.
Howard’s prediction looked doubtful after the first several possessions after he missed some easy shots from the box and even got stuffed by Hibbert.
But “Superman” rebounded quickly after Indiana’s double-team effort put him on the line five times throughout the quarter. He went 6–10 in free throws and scored 12 points overall. Included were some customary flying dunks that electrified the crowd.
Orlando’s 20-point first quarter lead allowed coach Stan Van Gundy to play his reserves for most of the second quarter, with sixth man Jason Williams keeping up his high intensity play from the first quarter both inside and outside the perimeter.
Much of Orlando’s early lead came down to fast breaks, which resulted in 24 points alone. That, combined with a 60 percent shooting average from the field, made for an unstoppable offensive tempo.
“We focused yesterday and today on just coming out with energy and when we do that we are a hard team to beat,” Orlando starting forward Matt Barnes told SUN network at the half.
Barnes had a strong first half contribution in just about every statistic, including 6 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals. Barnes finished the night with 16 rebounds.
“That’s just all effort. It’s something we need night in and night out and we’ve got to continue to build on it,” Barnes said.
Indiana made a brief run to start the third quarter and close the gap to 15, but Orlando got their offensive machine moving again after a Van Gundy timeout early on.
Van Gundy went back to the reserves to start the fourth quarter, and sloppy defense combined with a 14–2 Indiana scoring surge allowed the Pacers to cut the lead to eight points with just under seven minutes to go in the game.
That led Van Gundy to the starting lineup back in.
The Pacers’ Troy Murphy was unable to effectively guard the overpowering Howard with Hibbert sitting out with foul trouble. Howard had a few more dunks before all was said and done.
The Magic fulfilled Howard’s prediction that Hibbert’s Jan. 5 performance wouldn’t happen again. Hibbert finished with only three points for the night in 18 minutes of playing time.
Orlando’s Vince Carter finished the night with only six points but that was enough to move him into the NBA’s top 50 in all-time scoring. Congratulations Vince.
The Superman theme song played frequently throughout the arena as Dwight Howard had a season high 32 points including 16 from the foul line. He also pulled in 11 rebounds for a double-double. Forward Danny Granger led the Pacers with 25 points.
The win broke Orlando’s three-game losing streak during a rough stretch on the road, including a tough 98–92 loss against the league-leading Los Angeles Lakers on Monday.
Orlando also lost to Indiana on the road earlier in the month, with big man Roy Hibbert scoring 26 points to Dwight Howard’s 11.
“It won’t happen again,” Dwight Howard said before Wednesday night’s game.
Howard’s prediction looked doubtful after the first several possessions after he missed some easy shots from the box and even got stuffed by Hibbert.
But “Superman” rebounded quickly after Indiana’s double-team effort put him on the line five times throughout the quarter. He went 6–10 in free throws and scored 12 points overall. Included were some customary flying dunks that electrified the crowd.
Orlando’s 20-point first quarter lead allowed coach Stan Van Gundy to play his reserves for most of the second quarter, with sixth man Jason Williams keeping up his high intensity play from the first quarter both inside and outside the perimeter.
Much of Orlando’s early lead came down to fast breaks, which resulted in 24 points alone. That, combined with a 60 percent shooting average from the field, made for an unstoppable offensive tempo.
“We focused yesterday and today on just coming out with energy and when we do that we are a hard team to beat,” Orlando starting forward Matt Barnes told SUN network at the half.
Barnes had a strong first half contribution in just about every statistic, including 6 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals. Barnes finished the night with 16 rebounds.
“That’s just all effort. It’s something we need night in and night out and we’ve got to continue to build on it,” Barnes said.
Second Half Threat
Indiana made a brief run to start the third quarter and close the gap to 15, but Orlando got their offensive machine moving again after a Van Gundy timeout early on.
Van Gundy went back to the reserves to start the fourth quarter, and sloppy defense combined with a 14–2 Indiana scoring surge allowed the Pacers to cut the lead to eight points with just under seven minutes to go in the game.
That led Van Gundy to the starting lineup back in.
The Pacers’ Troy Murphy was unable to effectively guard the overpowering Howard with Hibbert sitting out with foul trouble. Howard had a few more dunks before all was said and done.
The Magic fulfilled Howard’s prediction that Hibbert’s Jan. 5 performance wouldn’t happen again. Hibbert finished with only three points for the night in 18 minutes of playing time.
Orlando’s Vince Carter finished the night with only six points but that was enough to move him into the NBA’s top 50 in all-time scoring. Congratulations Vince.
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