Trailing by three points with about 10 seconds remaining, Danny Granger caught the ball near the top of the key. But almost immediately, he was called for traveling and Indiana lost possession, giving the ball back to the Orlando Magic, who preserved an 81-77 win over the Pacers in Indianapolis.
The victory came as the result of a strong finish by the Magic. Trailing by two points with 4:05 left to play in the fourth quarter, Orlando prevented the Pacers from registering a point over the final four minutes. Meanwhile, it closed the game on an 11-0 run of its own.
Leading by seven points at halftime, Orlando pulled off the road win in large part because of the play of Glen Davis, Jameer Nelson and Jason Richardson, who finished with 16, 17 and 17 points, respectively. That initial lead after the first two periods, though, nearly fell apart during the third quarter after the Magic were held to just 13 points.
Game 2 of the seven-game series is scheduled for Monday night.
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