NBA Game Summary - Orlando at Indiana

03.13.2006

Indianapolis, IN (Basketball News) - Anthony Johnson and Danny Granger scored 21 points apiece, as Indiana beat Orlando, 97-83, at Conseco Fieldhouse.

David Harrison and Peja Stojakovic both scored 14 points for the Pacers, who have won two of their last three games. Jamaal Tinsley added 12 points and Granger ended with 12 rebounds.

Dwight Howard posted 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Magic, who had a two- game winning streak snapped, but have lost seven of nine. Carlos Arroyo scored 10 points, and Jameer Nelson added 10 assists.

It marked Orlando’s 14th straight road defeat. The Magic haven’t won outside the TD Waterhouse Centre since January 26 by beating Philadelphia in overtime.

With the score deadlocked at 70, Indiana scored seven straight points, capped by a Johnson jumper with 6:45 remaining to propel itself down the stretch.

"They were waiting on us and that makes it tougher, especially since they are a high energy team," Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said. "I thought Danny Granger’s shot-making in the first half was a real key. It got us the lead, and in the second half David was seemingly able to will the ball in the basket. Those were big plays because Orlando was coming back on us."

Indiana gained a slight early advantage and led 24-23 heading into the second quarter.

The Pacers started the second stanza on a 10-0 spurt, capped by a Granger jumper to give it a 34-23 lead with 9:40 left. The Pacers led 44-38 at halftime.

Granger scored nine straight Indiana points in the third quarter, as the Pacers built a 66-60 lead.

Orlando closed its gap by two points during the third, but Indiana led 66-62 heading into the fourth.

"We didn’t come out at the beginning of the game with the mind set that we were going to win this game," Orlando coach Brian Hill said. "We did a better job in the second half, but we dug ourselves a hole early on."

Indiana will host Denver, Sacramento and Boston next on the current four-game homestand. The Pacers snapped a two-game home losing streak, but have a 19-10 record as the host this season.

Orlando’s 14 straight road losses is one shy of matching the franchise record, set during the inaugural 1989-90 season...Indiana won the first meeting of the 2005-06 season between these two teams with a 90-78 triumph in the season opener for both squads on November 2...Indiana, which has won three of the last four meetings against Orlando, will host the Magic again in the regular- season finale on April 19...Orlando had a two-game winning streak at Indiana snapped...Granger was 9-for-12 from the field.

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