Granger's big night helps Pacers down Magic 106-85

ORLANDO, Fla. | Danny Granger scored 24 points, and David West and George Hill each had 16 as the Indiana Pacers ran past the Orlando Magic 106-85 on Sunday night.

The Pacers snapped a six-game losing streak to the Magic and avoided losing consecutive games for the first time this season.

Indiana had a 16-2 edge in second-chance points and got 42 points from its bench. The Pacers also went 8 for 17 from 3-point range.

Dwight Howard led the Magic with 24 points and 13 rebounds, but was a dismal 4 for 15 from the free throw line. Chris Duhon added 14 points and Jason Richardson 13.

The Magic's loss marked their first three-game skid of the season. It came after a horrendous week in which they endured a pair of losses by 25 or more points.

The Pacers erased a three-point Magic halftime lead and built as much as a 23-point advantage in the fourth quarter.

Howard had Orlando's first basket of the period to get the Magic within 10, but wasn't allowed many field goal attempts rest of the way as the Pacers opted to foul him whenever he got the ball deep underneath.

He fed into the strategy, going 1 for 4 from the free throw line in the quarter before going to the bench with 4:20 to play.

The Magic tried to keep pace by making 3s, but couldn't find the accuracy they had in the first half. They also were slowed by 19 turnovers that led to 21 Pacers points.

Nine Magic turnovers in the first 8 minutes of the game helped the Pacers build as much as a 15-point lead in the first half.

Indiana's bench was also active with 28 first-half points, led by Hill's 13.

Orlando got back in the game late in the second quarter, though, using an 18-2 run over the final 5 minutes to take a 51-48 lead into the locker room.

The Magic had no turnovers in the final 7:25 of the half, with Howard carrying the offense with 14 points, along with 11 from Ryan Anderson and 10 from Richardson.

NOTES: Magic point guard Jameer Nelson wasn't in the building, out with concussion-like symptoms after taking an inadvertent blow to the head and jaw in Orlando's loss at New Orleans on Friday. He won't travel with the team for its game in Philadelphia Monday and is day-to-day. ... To avoid Super Bowl traffic, Orlando originally planned to fly into Indianapolis for its Feb. 4 matchup with the Pacers on the day of the game. But the NBA is requiring the Magic to fly to Cincinnati following their Feb. 3 home game against Cleveland and then they will bus 115 miles into Indianapolis the next day. "I don't even need to comment on that," coach Stan Van Gundy said of the odd travel schedule. "You guys can comment on that and save me my money. When you come out with a schedule in December, and have a game in a Super Bowl city, lodging might be a problem." ... The Pacers concluded their third road trip of three games or longer this season.