Pacers keep shooting 3s, handle Magic

As the Indiana Pacers find themselves through the preseason, they’re discovering plenty of enticing shots from the perimeter. On Thursday as the Pacers’ substitutes closed out the Orlando Magic in a 97-92 win at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, the team overcame a 41.3 percent shooting night that included only 7-of-29 makes from the 3-point arc. In the previous exhibition games, the Pacers attempted 35 and 22 shots from deep.

“Obviously with the pace (we) want to play and we’re spread, so there’s going to be more 3s taken,” said C.J. Miles, who hoisted a team-high nine 3-point attempts. “But I think at the same time, we’re getting caught up in (the 3s) because we have a little bit of freedom with it. We’re trying to find some balance. I know me and Paul (George) were talking about it on the bench when we sat and watched the young guys.”

As a duo, George and Miles only made 9-of-31 attempts overall and 3-of-17 from 3. George played his longest stretch of action yet, 26 minutes. The additional time, however, did not lead to more production as he returned to earth from the previous game.

BOX SCORE: Pacers 97, Magic 92

On Tuesday, George scorched the Detroit Pistons for 20 points in the first quarter. However on Thursday, George could not find his shot, hitting 4-of-14 attempts (1-for-8 from the 3-point arc) and finishing with 13 points – his lowest total so far in the preseason.

“A lot of it is still getting familiar,” George said while speaking about the team’s 3-point percentage. “That was the shot this defense was giving us.

“I felt the swing 3-pointers were the shot this team was giving us tonight. We weren’t really hitting them, but if we can get great looks and they’re up there as far as 3-point attempts, then we’ll take them. That’s the whole point of us spreading the floor out for one another.”

Three Pacers, including starter George Hill (sprained right ankle), missed the game with various ailments. With Hill out, Monta Ellis played the point guard position as Glenn Robinson III moved into the starting lineup as the shooting guard.

“We want to see what his speed is like,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said of Ellis as the lead guard. “Like George Hill, he’s an attacking guard. There’s nothing that says he can’t be a point guard. He’s a prolific scorer, but he can be just as dangerous with the basketball.”

Though the preseason rotations – especially with injuries forcing out key players like Chase Budinger and Solomon Hill – can appear to be strange combinations, Ellis playing the point won’t simply be an early October experiment. In the event that Hill misses regular-season games, Ellis would move back into the starting point guard position. Without Ellis, the Pacers would have to rely on rookie Joe Young to step up. However, the early results of Ellis at the point were 50-50.

In the first quarter, Ellis threw three bad passes for turnovers but also assisted on three Pacers field goals. As the game developed, Ellis balanced his nature as a scorer (earning seven free throw attempts) with delivering the ball and finished with 12 points and seven assists.

“I thought he was terrific,” Vogel said. “I thought he was in attack mode, aggressive and made the right reads. He didn’t force almost anything. But if guys were making shots tonight, he could’ve easily had 12, 13 assists.”

In the second quarter, the Pacers, as they have through the other preseason games, rotated in a lineup with two bigs on the front line with Young and Rodney Stuckey in the backcourt. However, that lineup struggled to jell offensively. More than 3 minutes expired without a field goal and the Pacers trailed 55-47 at the half.

“Nothing that’s really a big concern,” Vogel said of the 20 points scored through the second quarter.

The preseason custom continued with the Pacers largely relying on the youngest players to finish the game. A unit of Robinson, Young, C.J. Fair, Rakeem Christmas and veteran Jordan Hill, who replaced Shayne Whittington (sprained left ankle), played the final 6:26 against a Magic unit that featured starters Victor Oladipo, Elfrid Payton and Tobias Harris. In spite of the perceived talent disparity, this Pacers lineup played better than even with the Magic. The Orlando starters finally exited the game at the 2:55 mark, and by that time, Indiana had the 89-87 advantage.

Robinson, the night’s starting shooting guard in name only, knocked down his second 3-pointer of the quarter with 1:36 remaining to extend the Pacers to a four-point lead. Robinson finished with 14 points, with all three field goals coming from 3 and Jordan Hill produced 10 points (5-of-7) and seven rebounds.

“I thought he won the game for us tonight,” Vogel said of Hill, then praised his mid-range shooting ability and rebounding skills. “ He doesn’t have a reputation of a strong defender but he’s coming here with a great defensive mindset…. I’ve been very pleased with his performances so far.”

Call Star reporter Candace Buckner at (317) 444-6121. Follow her on Twitter: @CandaceDBuckner.

Pistons at Pacers, 7 p.m. Tuesday