Oladipo Leads Pacers To Fourth Straight Win

By ESPN

It might have been Victor Oladipo's best all-around game at the arena where he played his first three NBA seasons.

Oladipo had 29 points, nine rebounds and seven steals to lead the Indiana Pacers to their fourth straight win, 105-97 over the Orlando Magic on Monday night.

The venue and the opponent had very little to do with it, according to the Pacers guard.

"Honestly, this year every night fuels me," Oladipo said. "We've got to go out and compete in the NBA against the best of the best. That competitive juice, that competitive edge is already running through my veins."

Oladipo and Bojan Bogdanovic combined for 40 points in the second half, 14 of them during a 16-3 third-quarter run that put the Pacers in command.

Oladipo's seven steals were a season-high and he also had five assists.

"He's taking that leader role," teammate Lance Stephenson said. "He's bringing it every night and being that guy that we need him to be."

Bogdanovic scored 24 of his 26 points in the second half, making five of six 3-pointers.

"He was red-hot for us," said coach Nate McMillan. "Part of the reason we've gone to an eight-man rotation is to try to get him minutes at the four position."

Nikola Vucevic had 25 points and 13 rebounds for the Magic, who lost their fifth straight.

The Magic finished with 22 turnovers and shot 33 percent in the second half to fall below .500 for the first time this season.

After a dunk by Aaron Gordon late in the first quarter, the Magic were down 23-22 despite making nine of their first 12 shots, including four of five 3-pointers. They never regained their shooting touch.

"Somewhere in the third quarter we lost our rhythm, started over-dribbling, got stagnant," Vucevic said. "I don't know why because it was working so well for us (in the first half). Then we started forcing stuff."

Two straight Orlando turnovers helped Indiana take a six-point lead before the Magic closed the first half with 11 straight points for a 55-50 advantage.

Oladipo and Bogdanovic scored 22 points in the third quarter. A 3-pointer by Bogdanovic gave Indiana its first double-digit lead with 4:11 left in the game.

A couple of 3-pointers by Evan Fournier and a 12-foot bank by Gordon pulled the Magic to within three in the final minute, but Oladipo set up Bogdanovic for a 3-pointer that put the Pacers up by six with 16.8 seconds left.

Monday, November 20 Scoreboard

Charlotte 118, Minnesota 102

Cleveland 116, Detroit 88

Indiana 105, Orlando 97

Philadelphia 107, Utah 86

New York 107, Los Angeles Clippers 85

Portland 100, Memphis 92

Washington 99, Milwaukee 88

New Orleans 114, Oklahoma City 107

Boston 110, Dallas 102 (OT)

San  Antonio 96, Atlanta 85

Denver 114,  Sacramento 98

Tuesday, November 21 Schedule (Time Central)

Chicago at Los Angeles Lakers, 9:30 p.m.

Wednesday, November 22 Schedule (All Times Central)

Washington at Charlotte, 6 p.m.

Brooklyn at Cleveland, 6 p.m.

Portland at Philadelphia, 6 p.m.

Los Angeles Clippers at Atlanta, 6:30 p.m.

Boston at Miami, 6:30 p.m.

Toronto at New York, 6:30 p.m.

Denver at Houston, 7 p.m.

Dallas at Memphis, 7 p.m.

Orlando at Minnesota, 7 p.m.

San Antonio at New Orleans, 7 p.m.

Golden State at Oklahoma City, 7 p.m.

Milwaukee at Phoenix, 8 p.m.

Chicago at Utah, 8 p.m.

Los Angeles at Sacramento, 9:30 p.m.

Thursday, November 23 Schedule

No games scheduled

Friday, November 24 Schedule (All Times Central)

Portland at Brooklyn, 11 a.m.

New York at Atlanta, 6:30 p.m.

Orlando at Boston, 6:30 p.m.

Charlotte at Cleveland, 7 p.m.

Toronto at Indiana, 7 p.m.

Miami at Minnesota, 7 p.m.

Detroit at Oklahoma City, 7 p.m.

Memphis at Denver, 8 p.m.

New Orleans at Phoenix, 8 p.m.

Chicago at Golden State, 9:30 p.m.

Saturday, November 25 Schedule (All Times Central)

San Antonio at Charlotte, 6 p.m.

Orlando at Philadelphia, 6 p.m.

Portland at Washington, 6 p.m.

Toronto at Atlanta, 6:30 p.m.

Boston at Indiana, 7 p.m.

New York at Houston, 7 p.m.

Oklahoma City at Dallas, 7:30 p.m.

New Orleans at Golden State, 7:30 p.m.

Milwaukee at Utah, 8 p.m.

Los Angeles Clippers at Sacramento, 9 p.m.

Sunday, November 26 Schedule (All Times Central)

Miami at Chicago, 2:30 p.m.

Phoenix at Minnesota, 2:30 p.m.

Brooklyn at Memphis, 5 p.m.