Pacers at Magic
The Indiana Pacers ripped off three wins in four days to close out last week and are starting to show improvement on the defensive end. The Pacers will try to make it four straight victories when they return to action by visiting the Orlando Magic on Wednesday.
Indiana held the Houston Rockets to 41 percent shooting, including 11-of-39 from beyond the arc, in a 120-101 triumph on Sunday as Paul George harassed star James Harden into a 3-of-17 effort. "I don't think they believe me, but when you're aggressive defensively, it puts you in a better rhythm offensively," Pacers coach Nate McMillan told reporters. "This is the third game in a row this has happened. I thought tonight we established our defense early." The Magic dropped 11 of their last 14 games and followed up an impressive win at the Toronto Raptors on Sunday with an overtime lost at Minnesota on Monday. "You can't go through a win-one, lose-one situation," Orlando forward Aaron Gordon told reporters. "That's just not ideal for us at this point. We're going to have to string some games together."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Indiana, FSN Florida (Orlando)
ABOUT THE PACERS (25-22): George, who is generally regarded as a small forward and spent time at power forward in a smaller grouping under former coach Frank Vogel last season, is logging time at shooting guard for McMillan of late. The 6-9 star seems to be taking to the role well and recorded at least 31 points in each of the last four games. "He's taking the shots that he can make," McMillan told reporters of George. "If teams are double-teaming him, he's kicking the ball out. He's getting guys involved."
ABOUT THE MAGIC (19-31): Vogel had some of the best defensive teams in the East during his time in Indiana and is trying to find the same commitment on that end in his new role as head coach of Orlando. The Magic allowed the Timberwolves to knock down 12 3-pointers on Monday and struggled to contain Ricky Rubio and Andrew Wiggins on the perimeter. "The key is the defensive end and that’s what we have to focus on. At some point this season we were really good defensively," shooting guard Evan Fournier told the team's website. "It's not a coincidence that that's when we had a good stretch. So we have to come back to being an aggressive team defensively."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Pacers SF C.J. Miles went 0-of-5 from 3-point range on Sunday after knocking down 9-of-13 in the previous two contests.
2. Fournier (foot) returned from a seven-game absence on Monday and scored nine points in 23 minutes off the bench.
3. Indiana took each of the first two meetings this season - both at home.