Magic score final 11 points, knock off Pacers in Game 1 - Chicago Tribune

INDIANAPOLIS -- The way people were talking about the first-round playoff series between the Orlando Magic and the Indiana Pacers, you would have thought the Magic had no chance, that a sweep was a certainty.

The Magic silenced that talk Saturday night.

They recovered from a seven-point deficit with 3:43 left in regulation and scored 11 consecutive unanswered points to pull out an 81-77 upset win in Game 1 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Jason Richardson sank a 3-pointer with 1:04 left to put Orlando ahead 78-77, and on the ensuing possession, Danny Granger missed a 2-footer off the glass.

When Ryan Anderson missed a 3 on the next trip down the floor, Glen Davis grabbed the offensive rebound. Jameer Nelson hit a pair of free throws with 24.5 seconds left to extend the lead to three points. And Darren Collison missed a midrange jumper on Indiana's ensuing possession.

After Earl Clark missed a pair of foul shots with 12.1 seconds left, Granger traveled with 7.5 seconds to go.

Davis, who played despite a sprained right ankle, scored 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Nelson added 17 points and nine assists.

Pacers center Roy Hibbert utilized his height advantage to score eight points, collect 13 rebounds and block a career-high nine shots.

David West scored 19 points. Granger added 17.

Game 2 is scheduled for 7:30 Monday night.

Indiana started to pull away early in the fourth quarter after the Magic went almost five minutes without scoring a point.

Clark scored on an easy dunk off a drive and dish from J.J. Redick to put Orlando up 68-67 with 9:41 left in regulation.

Trailing 68-67 with 9:24 in regulation, Tyler Hansbrough scored on a contested layup, and West scored on a short jumper to extend the lead to three points.

On Orlando's ensuing possession, Hedo Turkoglu turned over the ball out of bounds, and on the next trip down the court, West hit a stepback jumper to put Indiana up 73-68.

The Magic didn't score again until Turkoglu scored on a finger roll with 4:44 left to close the gap to 75-70.

The first quarter started just as terribly for the Magic.

They missed 13 of their first 16 shots even though they had plenty of open looks. The Pacers took advantage of that, using their height advantage to pile up second-chance points and take a 19-9 lead.

But the Magic withstood that initial onslaught.

Davis collected a perfectly placed bounce pass through the lane from Turkoglu and converted a layup. Nelson sank a 3.

Davis then prevented a layup in transition by George Hill with a hard foul that sent Hill sprawling to the floor. The play energized the Magic bench, galvanizing them to become more vocal, and Hill converted just one of the two ensuing free throws.

In all, Orlando closed out the quarter on a 14-5 run.

The Magic had weathered the storm by showing the same kind of grit that characterized the final two weeks of their regular season.

Pacers coach Frank Vogel tried to energize his players in their huddles, telling them they had the better team. But although Indiana has a clear size and depth advantage, the Magic were the better team in the second quarter, outscoring the Pacers 30-22.

Richardson sank three of his four shots from beyond the arc in the quarter, and Davis added eight points.

But most importantly, the Magic finally found some traction on defense. They held the Pacers to just under 38 percent shooting in the first half and 34.5 percent shooting for the game.

That momentum faded in the third quarter.

Perhaps even more than most teams, Orlando feeds off his shooting, and they came out of halftime cold and facing a tougher defense. The Magic missed nine of their first 12 shots in the third quarter; Hibbert blocked a pair of shots by Davis at the rim, enlivening the crowd inside the arena.

jbrobbins@tribune.com