NBA: Magic use big third quarter to defeat Pacers
Markelle Fultz #20 of the Orlando Magic shoots against Keifer Sykes #28 of the Indiana Pacers in the second half at Amway Center on February 28, 2022 in Orlando, Florida. Julio Aguilar/Getty Images/AFP
Wendell Carter Jr. scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for his fifth consecutive double-double, and Markelle Fultz, the No. 1 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, made a successful season debut Monday night, leading the host Orlando Magic to a 119-103 win over the Indiana Pacers.
Carter was 8-for-12 from the field and dominated during his 28 minutes on the court. He was limited only by foul trouble, finishing the game with five.
Fultz finished with 10 points on 5-for-7 shooting, six assists and two rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench. He was traded to Orlando in February 2019 and had not played in almost 14 months after suffering a left ACL injury during the Magic’s eighth game of the shortened 2020-21 season.
Wearing jersey No. 20, Fultz entered the game with 3:55 left in the first quarter. The 6-foot-4 point guard had three of his assists during the period, one after driving the lane and slipping a pass to Franz Wagner for an uncontested layup, and his free-throw line jumper started the scoring in the second quarter in giving the Magic a 33-32 lead.
Markelle Fultz in his return:
10 PTS
6 AST
5-7 FG
16 MIN #F2G 😈 pic.twitter.com/X3IVs0i0vJ— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) March 1, 2022
The Magic trailed 56-55 at halftime but outscored Indiana 35-19 in the third quarter for a 90-75 lead. Orlando capitalized on Pacers’ errors; Indiana committed 10 of its 22 total turnovers in the third quarter.
Two other Magic starters had double-doubles. Mo Bamba finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Jalen Suggs scored 14 points to go with a career-high-tying 10 assists. Wagner chipped in 15 points, R.J. Hampton had 12 and Cole Anthony and Gary Harris each contributed 11.
Tyrese Haliburton had 23 points and seven assists for Indiana, which lost its fifth straight on the road. Buddy Hield scored 11 of his 18 points in the second half for the Pacers, who shot 15-for-36 (41.7 percent) from 3-point range in the game.
Jalen Smith, playing his seventh game with Indiana after being traded from Phoenix, scored all 14 of his points in the first half. Smith also grabbed eight rebounds before being ejected after receiving a pair of technical fouls with 7:04 remaining in the third quarter.
Orlando ended the first half on a 17-7 run, cutting Indiana’s lead to one point at intermission. The Pacers were 10-for-23 on 3-pointers in the opening half, with Smith going 3-for-5.
Malcolm Brogdon, who scored 35 points in the Pacers’ previous two games, did not play on Monday due to right Achilles injury management.
