INDIANAPOLIS // Dwight Howard had 19 points and 16 rebounds to help the Orlando Magic beat the Indiana Pacers 111-96.
Jason Richardson had 19 points and nine rebounds, Hedo Turkoglu scored 18 points and Ryan Anderson added 14 for the Magic, who made 16-of-34 three-pointers and shot 50 per cent from the field. Orlando has won four of their past five games, but went into this contest on the back of a home defeat to Detroit on Monday.
Danny Granger scored 27 points for the Pacers, but he shot 6 for 19 from the field. Darren Collison added 21 points for Indiana, who lost have now chalked up six straight defeats.
Indiana made just 8-of-30 three-pointers. The Pacers tied for their worst home loss, matching their 15-point defeat on December 15 against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Orlando made seven three-pointers in the second-quarter to open up a close game. The Magic shot 59 per cent in the first-half and led 62-48 at the break. Orlando shot 72 per cent in the second-quarter and outscored the Pacers 38-27.
Indiana opened the second-half with a three-pointer by Mike Dunleavy, but the Magic regained momentum with an alley-oop pass from Turkoglu to Howard for a power jam that gave the Magic a 69-53 lead. Orlando then stretched their lead to 23 points mid-way through the quarter and led 86-72 at the end of the period.
Indiana opened the fourth-quarter with a three-pointer by Granger, sparking a 7-0 run that cut Orlando's lead to 86-79.
Turkoglu stopped the run with a three-point play that pushed the Magic's lead back to 10 points with 8:39 to play.
A three-pointer by Jameer Nelson gave Orlando a 94-79 lead and caused the Pacers to call a timeout.
Indiana closed within 11, but Richardson made two three-pointers to extend Orlando's lead to 103-86
