INDIANAPOLIS (Ticker) -- Rod Strickland made a triumphant debut as the starting point guard, hitting a go-ahead jumper with 14 seconds left to lift the Orlando Magic to a 94-90 victory over the Indiana Pacers.
"It was a breakdown," Strickland said. "We ran the play that we called and it didn't work. I think Tracy McGrady got doubled on the side or something and as the play broke down, I got the ball and saw a lane and shot it."
Strickland finished with 13 points and eight assists as the Magic (5-21), owners of the worst record in the NBA, defeated the best team in the Eastern Conference.
"When you're leading the East, you're going to get everybody's best game," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "Teams will come at you with nothing to lose. We've got to see if we're up to it."
"On nights when we aren't hitting shots, it's going to be tough no matter what the record is," said Pacers forward Jermaine O'Neal, whose team shot just just 36 percent (33-of-91) from the field.
After Strickland's shot, Indiana's Al Harrington missed a jumper and Magic rookie Keith Bogans grabbed a rebound. Bogans, who scored 15 points, made his first free throw and missed the second, but Drew Gooden sneaked inside Harrington and grabbed the offensive rebound. Gooden then hit both free throws.
McGrady led Orlando with 21 points and 11 assists as the Magic snapped the Pacers' eight-game home winning streak, improving to just 4-9 on the road. Juwan Howard scored 19 points and Drew Gooden had 18 and 10 rebounds off the bench.
"That was a total team victory for us," Magic coach Johnny Davis said. "We attacked the entire night."
O'Neal led Indiana with 24 points and 17 rebounds but scored just two points in the fourth quarter. Ron Artest chipped in 18 points while Harrington had 12 and 12 rebounds.
Orlando baffled Indiana with a zone defense. The Magic used the zone for most of the game and the Pacers had a hard time getting good shots. Indiana was unable to get the ball down low and settled for outside jumpers.
"These guys are pros," O'Neal said. "They are going to take things away from you, like me posting up. They are going to make us beat them from the outside."
Reggie Miller's only basket, a 3-pointer, cut the deficit to 88-86 with 3:41 to go. Anthony Johnson hit two free throws nearly a minute later to tie the game. Artest's hook with 2:08 left gave Indiana its final lead, 90-89.
Artest played good defense on McGrady and forced him to settle for jumpers. But the All-Star swingman got some help from his teammates as Orlando had five players in double figures.
"We were pretty consistent with our effort tonight," Strickland said. "They got a lot of offensive rebounds, especially in the first half, but we stuck with our game plan and grinded it out."
