With their postseason spots nearly set, the Indiana Pacers and visiting Orlando Magic might choose to rest a few starters when the teams meet on Friday night.
Indiana (49-31) clinched a top-four seed and home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs with a 114-112 home win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday.
“Congratulations to the guys,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “Congratulations to the fans who were a big part of it. But it’s not a destination. It’s simply a tool.”
Indiana holds the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference and trails the No. 3 New York Knicks (50-30) by one game with two games remaining. The Knicks would clinch the No. 3 seed with either a victory or an Indiana loss.
Orlando (40-40) clinched the No. 7 seed in the East and the top spot in the play-in tournament with a 96-76 home win over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday.
The Magic have won four straight games and will host the No. 8 seed — either the Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls or Atlanta Hawks — on Tuesday.
“Extremely proud of this group,” Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley said. “More than anything, being able to endure through all the things — the injuries, guys in, guys out — and still come away with … giving yourself a secured seventh for the opportunity to get into the playoffs (is laudable).”
Franz Wagner scored 23 points and Cole Anthony added 18 in the win over Boston, which rested most of its regulars. Wagner has 20 or more points in 12 straight games.
“That was a great team win,” Anthony said. “Everyone contributed. It wasn’t particularly a close game. Obviously, they didn’t play a majority of their guys, but this is the league. And every time you step on the court and handle business, that’s a plus. Big shout-out to the team. That’s a good win, and we have to keep building off of this.”
Orlando has won two of the three meetings with Indiana this season. The teams last met on Nov. 13, when Wagner scored a game-high 29 points in the Magic’s 94-90 victory.
Entering the Friday game, Orlando listed injured Wendell Carter Jr. (hip), Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (knee), Cory Joseph (knee), Paolo Banchero (ankle) and Wagner (knee) as questionable.
Caldwell-Pope was limited to seven minutes against Boston due to his sore left knee.
Indiana has won six straight games and needs one more victory to secure its first 50-win season since 2013-14. After struggling early in the season, the Pacers are 33-13 since the calendar turned to 2025.
“It’s special for us knowing what we’ve been through to get here,” Indiana point guard Tyrese Haliburton said. “We’re a game away from a 50-win season. It’s a special year, especially how it started. We don’t take that lightly.”
Haliburton had 23 points, eight rebounds, 10 assists and three blocks in the Thursday win over Cleveland, which rested four starters. The Pacers improved to 25-3 this season when Haliburton scores 20 or more points.
Aaron Nesmith had 22 points and Jarace Walker added 15 against the Cavaliers. Myles Turner finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and four blocks.
–Field Level Media
