Pacers 95, Magic 73
INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indiana Pacers needed something to get them out of their mini funk.
The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Orlando Magic had no problem helping them out.
The Pacers followed up their easy victory over the Cavaliers on Monday by beating the Magic 95-73 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Tuesday.
Indiana has won two in a row after dropping two straight and four of its last six prior to the Cleveland game.
Swingman Paul George had 19 points and five rebounds for the Pacers. Gerald Green added 15 points off the bench for Indiana. Arron Afflalo and Maurice Harkless had 10 points each for Orlando. Magic coach Jacque Vaughn was ejected after picking up two technicals in the second half.
The Pacers came out looking like a team that was playing its fourth game in five nights. They fell behind by five early. Then it was like they finally realized they were playing the struggling Magic.
Indiana took off on a 14-0 run after that and never looked back. George scored eight points during the run.
The Pacers went back to looking like the best defensive team in the league during the first half after taking some steps back over the past few weeks. They forced the Magic into tough shots on the perimeter and contested almost every shot they took in the paint.
Indiana held the Magic to 26 percent shooting in the first half. The Pacers should have led by more than 13 points at halftime, but they hurt themselves by turning the ball over eight times in the first half.
The Pacers led by as many as 25 points in the second half, allowing coach Frank Vogel to pull his starters in the fourth quarter and rest them.
NOTES: Pacers small forward Danny Granger has been cleared to resume on-the-court activities after being shut down the past two weeks because of above average soreness in his left knee. He has only played in five games this season. "If his knee responds well, we'll try to get him back in (a game) as soon as we can," coach Frank Vogel said. ... Power forward David West missed his second straight game with a lower-back sprain, which happened in last weekend's game at Philadelphia. Tyler Hansbrough started at power forward again and contributed 14 points and 14 rebounds. ... Orlando forward Tobias Harris, acquired from Milwaukee as part of the J.J. Redick deal last month, went into Tuesday averaging 14.4 points and 8.8 rebounds in five starts. ... Vogel has moved swingman Gerald Green back in the rotation in place of Sam Young after keeping him on the bench for the past two months.
