The Indiana Pacers got their NBA season off to a winning start as they beat the Orlando Magic 97-87 at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
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The Pacers had the performances of Roy Hibbert, Paul George and David West in particular to thank for their victory, with George scoring an impressive 24 points for his side.
Indiana will also look to their defensive efforts as being key in the game following Hibbert's display, which produced seven blocks, in addition to West's five blocks as the team notched a total of 18 blocks in the encounter.
The game had been tight going into the third quarter, but George scored a three-pointer right on the buzzer to give the Pacers some breathing space at 69-64 going into the fourth.
Coming into the final quarter Indiana's reserve line put the game to bed with an impressive scoring run, as Luis Scola, Orlando Johnson and Ian Mahinmi combined for 11 points in a 15-1 run that pushed Indiana's lead to 80-65 with just under nine minutes remaining in the game.
