Orlando
Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services
The Magic were the first team to play against the recently suspended Indiana Pacers and as they faced just six players who were able to suit up, it turned out not to be as easy a cake-walk as they had hoped. Nevertheless, with Grant Hill's 28 points to the rescue, the Magic beat the Pacers 86-83to snap a three-game road losing streak. The Magic are also 3-0 in games decided by fewer than five points this season.
"You can't look at it like they only have six players," Hill said. "You have a tendency to do that, but we knew they would come out and play hard." Indeed they did.
Dwight Howard grabbed 11 rebounds, helping the Magic hold a 42-32 edge on the boards. What kept the Pacers in the game were the Orlando turnovers, tallying seventeen, and the fact that they missed 10 out of their 13 three-point attempts! Mainly it was Steve Francis's 0-for-3 night from downtown that hurt, though it was also Francis's game-high seven assists that kept the offense flowing. And he did a good job making it flow: three Magic players had team-high 16 field goal attempts: Francis, Hill, and Hedo Turkoglu.
Francis's seven assists were also just one shy of Indiana's team total for the game.
NEXT GAME
The Magic (6-3) take a couple days off before hosting the Portland Trail Blazers (4-5), who will be playing the second game of a back-to-back Florida road trip, so hopefully the Magic can put the jets on their tired, out-of-state legs. The game starts at 7:00pm and will be broadcast on the Sunshine Network and NBA League Pass.
TEAM NOTES
The NBA announced that Steve Francis, Grant Hill, Dwight Howard, Cuttino Mobley and Tony Battie will represent the Orlando Magic in All-Star Balloting, giving fans around the globe the opportunity to vote for their favorite players as starters in the 54th NBA All-Star Game to be played in Denver on Sunday, February 20, 2005. All-Star balloting continues through January 23.
INJURY UPDATE
Cuttino Mobley(groin) did not play against Indiana and is questionable for Wednesday's game against Portland; Michael Bradley(knee),Brandon Hunter(Achilles) andAndrew DeClercq(knee) are on the injured list.
The Associated Press writes inThe Register-Guard: Limited to just six players because of suspensions and injuries, the Pacers stayed close before dropping an 86-83 decision to Orlando on Saturday night... Hill tied the game and put Orlando in front again after a turnover by Croshere. Harrison tied the game at 71, but Steve Francis and Hill made consecutive baskets and the Magic never surrendered the lead.
The Sports Network writes inhoopsvibe.com: Grant Hill scored 28 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had six assists to lead Orlando to an 86-83 win over the depleted Indiana Pacers at Conseco Fieldhouse.Hedo Turkoglu had 16 points and Steve Francis contributed 13 points and seven assists for the Magic, who have won two straight games.
Brian Schmitz ofThe Orlando Sentinelwrites: The repercussions from Friday night's basketball brawl already could be seen two rows underneath the Orlando Magic's bench area at Conseco Fieldhouse, home of the Indiana Pacers.Their seats -- and those in the first two rows -- were anchored together by arena workers Saturday before the Pacers faced the Magic without three of their top players, who were suspended for fighting with fans in a frightening melee near the end of the Indiana-Detroit Pistons game. At Conseco, thick wire was strung through the bottom of the folding chairs to prevent them from being thrown should a fracas ever break out.