Final
Pacers finish Sunshine State tour against Howard, Magic
Mar 11, 2012 - 2:34 PM (Sports Network) - Indiana will finish a tough two-day tour of the Sunshine State on Sunday when they visit Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic.The Pacers are currently the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race, 1 1/2 games behind No. 3 Orlando after a heartbreaking 93-91 overtime loss in Miami on Saturday.
Dwyane Wade drained the game-winning jumper with 0.1 seconds left in the extra frame despite a lot of contact after LeBron James made a tying three at the end of regulation for Miami.
Wade, who scored 28 points to lead all scorers, pump-faked Paul George into the air on the high left side and then leaned into the contact to draw a foul. Nothing was called, but Wade hit the bottom of the net anyway to secure things.
"A gutsy win," the All-Star said.
"A big-time shot," added James, who is often criticized for passing up shots down the stretch.
Danny Granger scored 19 points to lead Indiana and David West had 15 with 10 rebounds. The Pacers have lost three in a row after a six-game winning streak and have dropped their last five against Miami.
"We had this game won," said Pacers point guard Darren Collison, who had 14 points. "We know we can compete with this team, if not beat this team. This was our game to win ... We just didn't make the plays we needed to down the stretch."
The Magic have won three of four, including Thursday's impressive 99-94 win at Eastern Conference-leading Chicago. Dwight Howard scored a game-high 29 points to go with 18 rebounds to lead Orlando in that one.
Jason Richardson shot 4-of-6 from three-point range en route to 18 points before rolling his left ankle in the fourth quarter, while Ryan Anderson chipped in a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards as the Magic bounced back from a 100-84 loss on Tuesday to the woeful Charlotte Bobcats.
"Chicago made a run and instead of us folding and giving up, we played together, stayed together and got a good win," Howard said after the victory.
Orlando, however, will be without two starters tonight, Richardson and Hedo Turkoglu.
Richardson hopes to return early next week but coach Stan Van Gundy has been less optimistic, saying the veteran sharpshooter would miss at least three games.
Turkoglu, meanwhile, was suspended one game for making contact with official Karl Lane in Chi-Town. The incident came with 3:47 left in the fourth quarter when Joakim Noah came up with a block of a Turkoglu's layup attempt. Turkoglu wanted a foul call and went to plead his case to Lane and lightly put his hands on the ref's shoulders.
Orlando has won two of three against Indiana this season, but lost the lone matchup in central Florida. Overall the Magic have won 13 of 16 in the series.
- INDIANA: 94
ORLANDO: 107
Final
Mar 11 8:18 PM - INDIANA: 66
ORLANDO: 91
End of 3rd
Mar 11 7:49 PM - INDIANA: 45
ORLANDO: 56
Halftime
Mar 11 7:06 PM - INDIANA: 22
ORLANDO: 36
End of 1st
Mar 11 6:36 PM - INDIANA: 0
ORLANDO: 0
1st Quarter - 12:00
Mar 11 6:12 PM
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