Orlando Magic vs. Indiana Pacers Pick & Prediction NOVEMBER 6th 2024
Preview and Prediction
The Orlando Magic and Indiana Pacers will face off once again in just 10 days as they meet on Wednesday in Indianapolis.
The Magic emerged victorious in their first encounter on Oct. 28 in Orlando, with forward Paolo Banchero delivering an exceptional performance.
Banchero's 50-point game was a historic moment for the Magic, as it was the first time a player had reached the half-century mark since Tracy McGrady in March 2004. He also came close to achieving a triple-double, falling just one assist short of joining the elite group of players in NBA history who have recorded a 50-plus-point game with a triple-double.
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However, Orlando has faced some challenges since their win against Indiana, losing Banchero to a torn right oblique that will keep him out of action for several weeks. This has resulted in the Magic's recent struggles, with their most recent game being a 102-86 loss to the undefeated Oklahoma City.
Franz Wagner led the Magic with 22 points, while Jalen Suggs contributed 19 points, six rebounds, and six assists. Goga Bitadze also returned from a five-game absence due to a foot injury and had his best performance of the season with 11 points and nine rebounds.
Despite the efforts of Wagner, Suggs, and Bitadze, the Magic were unable to get more than three players in double figures and failed to score 90 points for the second consecutive game. In fact, they only managed to score 85 points in their previous game against the Dallas Mavericks, resulting in a 23-point loss.
Orlando has struggled to reach the 100-point mark in three of their four losses during this current losing streak.
According to Magic coach Jamahl Mosley, the team's field-goal percentage of 42.2% ranks 27th in the NBA, but they are sixth in free-throw attempts per game at 26.4. In their previous game against the Pacers, Orlando had 38 free-throw attempts, with Banchero responsible for 22 of them.
On the other hand, the Pacers were on a three-game losing streak before their previous encounter with the Magic. However, they have since won two of their last three games, including a 134-127 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Monday.
The 134 points scored by the Pacers was their highest in regulation this season. Myles Turner led the team with 30 points and 11 rebounds, while Tyrese Haliburton had 25 points and 12 assists.
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Haliburton, who led the NBA in assists per game last season, had a slow start this year with just 11 assists in his first three games. However, he has since bounced back and has recorded at least 10 assists in each of his last four games.
All five of Indiana's starters scored in double figures against the Mavericks, including Pascal Siakam with 23 points and Bennedict Mathurin with 16. Mathurin has been on a hot streak, scoring a combined 65 points in the Pacers' last three games, including a 30-point performance in their 135-132 overtime win against the reigning champions, the Boston Celtics.
With their recent wins over the Celtics and Mavericks, the Pacers have now defeated both of last season's NBA Finals participants.
According to Pacers coach Rick Carlisle, their team is gaining valuable experience, especially in close games on the road. He believes that their recent victories are a result of their understanding of these types of situations.
Orlando vs. Indiana Recap JAN 22TH 2021
T.J. Warren made his first eight field-goal attempts on his way to 32 points, and the Indiana Pacers led the Orlando Magic wire-to-wire in a 120-109 win, Tuesday in NBA seeding-round action.
Warren continued his red-hot scoring touch since the season restarted from the COVID-19 hiatus. Tuesday's performance gave him 119 points over three games, which ties a franchise record, and Indiana (42-26) remains perfect since the restart.
Behind Warren's scorching start, Indiana led Orlando (32-36) by as many as 23 points in the first quarter and 24 points in the second.
The Magic cut into the lead in the second half, but could not trim the deficit into single digits until the final minute.
Indiana kept Orlando at bay with a balanced complement of scorers behind Warren. Myles Turner scored 21 points, Aaron Holiday and Malcolm Brogdon both scored 12 points, and Victor Oladipo added 13 points in his return to the lineup after a scheduled rest on Monday.
T.J. McConnell came off the bench to score 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting and dished five assists, second only to Brogdon's game-high eight.
Nikola Vucevic led the Magic with 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double.
Aaron Gordon added 20 points, and Terrance Ross delivered his second 20-plus-point effort in as many games off the bench with 20 -- all of which came in the second half.
While all three hit the 20-point mark for a second consecutive game -- and for Vucevic, a third time in the Orlando-area bubble -- the rest of the Magic combined for just 45 points on 18-of-41 shooting.
As a team, Orlando went 39-of-82 from the floor and 12-of-34 from 3-point range. Indiana was marginally better from 3-point range at 13-of-33, but Warren and Turner went a combined 8-of-10.
Tuesday marked Orlando's first loss in the restarted season. Coupled with the Brooklyn Nets' stunning defeat of the Eastern Conference-leading Milwaukee Bucks earlier in the day, the Magic slipped from the East's No. 7 to No. 8 spot.
Indiana extended its lead over Philadelphia for the No. 5 seed to 1.5 games.