INDIANAPOLIS — Reserve guard Rodney Stuckey scored 25 of his game-high and season-high 34 points during Indiana’s 59-point first half Tuesday night, and the Pacers defeated the Orlando Magic 118-86 in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Led by Stuckey, the Pacers, who have won a season-best six in a row, got 46 of their 59 first-half points from non-starters. In 18 first-half minutes, Stuckey made 9 of 11 field-goal attempts, including 5 of 7 from 3-point range. He also had four first-half rebounds.
His 34 points are the most this season by a Pacer, replacing the 31 by guard Donald Sloan on Nov. 5 in an overtime loss at Washington. Stuckey added six rebounds and seven assists.
Guard C.J. Watson had 11 of his 12 points during the pivotal first half, when the Pacers (29-34) were 10 of 20 from beyond the arc and shot 52.5 percent overall (21 of 40). Indiana made a season-high 17 shots from 3-point range in 34 attempts.
The 118 points are a Pacers’ season high, replacing the 114 they scored in a Feb. 4 victory against the Detroit Pistons.
Beginning with a Jan. 25 victory in Orlando (21-44), the Pacers are 14-4. Indiana played without starting guard C.J. Miles, who has a sore right foot. Damjan Rudez started in Miles’ place and scored 17 points.
Forward Tobias Harris led Orlando with 22 points and six rebounds. Guard Elfrid Payton scored 14 points, and center Nikola Vucevic and guard Victor Oladipo each had 13.
Trailing 26-18 with 2:24 left in the first quarter, Indiana countered with a 20-2 run, taking a 38-28 lead on a Watson field goal with 9:04 remaining in the second quarter.
Another 3-pointer from Stuckey and a floater from guard George Hill, who scored 13, increased the Indiana lead to 84-68 with 2:03 remaining in the third quarter. The Pacers led 86-70 with 12 minutes remaining.
A jumper from forward Luis Scola extended the Pacers’ advantage to 100-76 with 7:42 to play. Scola finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
NOTES: Orlando is without G/F Devyn Marble (detached left eye retina). … Magic C Nikola Vucevic is battling a sore left ankle, but he was in the starting lineup. … Orlando Gs Luke Ridnour (strained right hamstring), Willie Green (sore right Achilles) and Evan Fournier (sore right hip) are battling injuries. … Indiana entered with a five-game winning streak and an 8-2 mark in its past 10. … Orlando came in with a modest two-game winning streak and a 5-5 mark in its past 10. … Entering Tuesday’s game, the Pacers held the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference playoff chase, just ahead of Charlotte and Miami. … The Magic have three of the NBA’s top 29 scorers with Vucevic (19.7), G Victor Oladipo (17.5) and F Tobias Harris (16.9). … Vucevic is the NBA’s No. 7 rebounder at 11.2 per game. … Indiana is 5-0 this season when G George Hill leads the team in scoring and is 9-1 when he leads the team in assists. … Before Tuesday’s game, Indiana had not lost at home since losing to San Antonio on Feb. 9 … Indiana entered the game ranked third in opponents’ points per game (96.1) and Orlando is 23rd (101.2). … The Pacers defeated the Magic 98-83 on Nov. 28 in Indianapolis and 106-99 on Jan. 25 in Orlando.