Pacers 97, Magic 87
Paul George scored 24 points and Lance Stephenson added 19 as host Indiana pulled away from Orlando in the fourth quarter in the season opener for both squads.
Roy Hibbert contributed eight points, 16 rebounds and seven blocked shots and David West added 13 points and five blocks for the Pacers. Indiana used a 21-4 burst bridging the third and fourth quarters to take control and turn a close contest into an 18-point bulge.
Andrew Nicholson scored 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting, Maurice Harkless added 14 points and Victor Oladipo scored 12 in his NBA debut for the Magic. Jameer Nelson added 12 points and seven assists.
Orlando trailed by just one after Ronnie Price’s basket with six seconds left in the third before the Pacers went on a 15-1 run. Indiana’s largest lead was 92-73 after a 3-pointer by George with 6:20 to play.
The Pacers scored the game’s first 12 points but Nicholson poured in all 18 of his points in the first half to rally the Magic to a 44-40 halftime lead. Indiana led 69-64 entering the final quarter due to a technical free throw and George’s 3-pointer in the final seconds of the stanza.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Pacers blocked 18 shots while holding the Magic to 38.7 percent from the field. … Indiana was without F Danny Granger (calf) and Orlando was missing PF Glen Davis (knee) and SF Tobias Harris (ankle). … Magic C Nikola Vucevic was called for a flagrant 1 foul in the final quarter.