Pacers roll past Magic in Orlando
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Paul George made four 3-pointers en route to 25 points as the Indiana Pacers dominated the Orlando Magic, 115-86, on Friday.
Tyler Hansbrough added 18 points and six rebounds for the Pacers, who bounced back from a tough loss to the Celtics on Wednesday. D.J. Augustin made four 3- pointers for 14 points, George Hill added 11 points and Lance Stephenson and Roy Hibbert each donated 10 in the victory.
Indiana shot 51.8 percent from the floor and went 11-of-19 from beyond the arc.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We're growing on the offensive end," Pacers head coach Frank Vogel said. "We know if we put together solid offensive play with the way we defend and rebound we have a chance to do something special."
Arron Afflalo had 19 points to pace the Magic, who have lost seven straight at home. Nikola Vucevic and Beno Udrih tallied 12 points apiece.
The Magic jumped out to a 6-2 lead, but it was all Indiana after that. An ensuing 14-4 run by the Pacers made it a 16-10 contest with 5:16 left in the first quarter.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}George ended the opening period with a pair of baskets around Vucevic's jumper, making it 22-15 Indiana heading into the second.
The Pacers really started to pull away midway through the second frame as Augustin bookended a 12-4 run with a pair of 3-pointers to make it a 47-31 game with 4:12 remaining until half.
Orlando scored the final four points of the second to cut the gap to 53-38 at the break, but the Pacers continued to roll in the second half, starting the third quarter on a 10-3 spurt. George recorded the final four points of the burst to make it 63-41.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}George made three straight 3-pointers during the middle stages of the frame to extend Indiana's margin to 76-50.
The Pacers took an 88-63 lead into the fourth and cruised to victory from there.
"They just played harder than us today," Magic forward Tobias Harris said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Game Notes
The Magic defeated Indiana in the previous matchup this season, a 97-86 victory in Orlando on Jan. 16. The Magic had won three straight in this series ... Orlando shot 39 percent from the field, went 5-of-15 from beyond the arc and turned the ball over 21 times, leading to 30 Indiana points ... The Pacers played their second straight game without forward Danny Granger, who is expected to miss a week resting a sore left knee.