INDIANAPOLIS – Al Harrington tied a season high with 32 points to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 93-83 victory over the Orlando Magic on Friday night.

Danny Granger scored 18 points and Jermaine O’Neal added nine points and 11 rebounds after sitting out Wednesday against Washington with a sore left ankle.

Jameer Nelson scored 19 points and Dwight Howard had 17 points and 14 rebounds for the Magic.

Indiana made 27 of 32 free throws, while Orlando was 16-of-28. Orlando entered the game leading the league with a .514 field-goal percentage and had four players in the league’s top 13, but the Pacers held the Magic to 44 percent shooting.

Harrington averaged nine points in the Pacers’ first two home games, but he lifted the team on Friday. He shot 13-for-23 from the field while the rest of the Pacers shot 18-for-56. The Pacers (4-2) bounced back from a 117-91 loss at Washington on Wednesday.

Orlando (3-3) led 57-52 early in the third quarter before Harrington’s alley-oop dunk on a pass from Stephen Jackson cut Orlando’s lead to 57-56. Jamaal Tinsley followed that with a 3-pointer that gave the Pacers a brief 59-57 lead.

The Pacers closed the third quarter on an 11-2 run — Harrington scored eight of the points — to take a 70-63 lead into the fourth. Nelson’s 10-point third quarter kept the Magic within range.

Harrington scored eight points in the fourth quarter to help keep the Magic at bay.

Hedo Turkoglu scored 10 points in the first quarter as Orlando took a 32-27 lead at the end of the period. Harrington scored 12 points in the quarter to keep the Pacers close. Orlando shot 67 percent from the field in the opening quarter but missed five of 11 free-throw attempts.

Indiana took a 41-39 lead on a basket by Jeff Foster with 6:39 left in the second quarter, but Grant Hill scored eight straight points to give Orlando a 47-41 lead and force an Indiana timeout. Orlando held on to take a 50-47 halftime lead.

Notes: Jasper, Ind. native Scott Rolen of the World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals attended the game and sat courtside. … J.J. Redick, Orlando’s first-round pick, hasn’t played this season. … Indiana G Darrell Armstrong played the first nine years of his 13-year career with the Magic. … O’Neal entered the game tied for the league lead with 3.75 blocks per game but finished with one.

AP-ES-11-10-06 2151EST


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