What do the Orlando Magic need to do to win Game 3 against the Indiana Pacers?

Here are five areas:

1. Sustain the intensity
Ever since Dwight Howard went down with a herniated disk, Stan Van Gundy has said his team has almost no margin for error. Van Gundy is correct. The Magic can’t afford to play with less energy than the Pacers in this series; the Pacers simply have more size, more athleticism and more depth.

In this series, the Magic have done just fine when they’ve matched the Pacers’ energy. But that turned in Game 2’s crucial third quarter, when Indiana beat Orlando to every loose ball, corralling 15 of the first 16 rebounds of the period and scored 13 second-chance points to Orlando’s two.

The Magic must sustain their intensity, and they need to draw energy from their home crowd. (Of course, that begs the question whether the typically disengaged home crowd, particularly the fans in the lower bowl, can provide much noise, but that’s another issue entirely.)

2. Help on West
The Magic’s halfcourt defense has been surprisingly solid so far in this series, but one area of concern revolves around the Pacers’ rugged power forward, David West.

West enjoys a distinct advantage when he posts up against Ryan Anderson. The Magic are going to have to give Anderson some help here, perhaps with point guards and wings ducking in on post-ups.

3. Ball movement
Pacers coach Frank Vogel has told his players repeatedly that they cannot allow uncontested 3s. If the Magic make contested 3s, fine, but Vogel has emphasized the importance of guarding the 3-point line and closing out quickly. Orlando players will have to maintain their ball movement, finding open perimeter shooters on the weak side, in order to provide an extra split second to square up for 3s.

4. Get back
The Pacers want to push the ball at every opportunity in transition, and they did that to devastating effect in Game 2, scoring 22 fastbreak points to the Magic’s two.

The Magic must do a much better job of getting back on defense, especially when their perimeter shooters miss long shots. In order to get back quickly, the Magic may need to be more selective in their attempts to secure offensive rebounds.

5. Sharpen the pick-and-roll
Indiana’s height has caused significant problems, especially when Jameer Nelson has attempted to attack the rim. According to Synergy Sports Technology, the Magic went just 2-for-17 in Game 2 on shot attempts by the ball handler off pick-and-rolls.

Those misses weren’t all by Nelson, of course, but the diminutive point guard obviously faces a challenge when he penetrates into the lane and finds 7-foot-2 Roy Hibbert there, as Van Gundy noted after Monday’s defeat. Somehow, Magic coaches are going to have to find a way to give Nelson and his teammates some more space on the inside.

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Stan Van Gundy gathered his assistant coaches together in the minutes after the Orlando Magic lost to the Indiana Pacers on Monday night. There, in the coaches’ office adjoining Bankers Life Fieldhouse’s visiting locker room, Van Gundy gave himself and the group a homework assignment.

“Offensively, in terms of the halfcourt,” Van Gundy later explained to reporters, “we’ve got to hopefully find a better way to help our guys a little bit overcome their size and get us better shots. If I had the answer right now, then I would’ve had it in the game and maybe we would’ve played better. So I’m just telling you, right now I don’t know what that answer is.”

An answer is necessary.

The taller, more athletic Pacers have held the Magic to 37.6 percent shooting in these playoffs. Orlando’s postseason fate, including the critical Game 3 at 7:30 Wednesday night at Amway Center, obviously hinges on the Magic jumpstarting their sputtering offense.

When Orlando ended its regular season, its concerns centered around its defense, not its offense. In its first 11 games without Dwight Howard, the Magic had allowed opponents to shoot 50.0 percent from the field. But the Magic’s own offense made 43.8 percent of its attempts and did a better job of moving the ball than it did with Howard on the floor.

Scoring becomes tougher in the playoffs. That’s a given.

But the Magic have not been able to overcome the Pacers’ height. Center Roy Hibbert, who is 7 feet 2, has blocked 11 shots in the two games.

Hibbert and the Pacers’ other active big men have made it more difficult for Nelson to get to the rim, even on his bread-and-butter play, pick-and-rolls.

And there have been times when the Magic have been too impatient, choosing to take ill-advised, difficult shots early in the shotclock when more ball movement could have led to better opportunities.

According to the website HoopData, Magic center Glen Davis has attempted 13 shots from between 16 and 23 feet, where he’s not at his best. He’s gone 3-for-13 from that distance in the series.

Earl Clark has gone 0-for-5 from that distance.

Orlando struggled from 3-point range in its Game 2 loss, making just 32.0 percent of its shots from beyond the arc.

“If you don’t play the right way defensively, you’ll get drilled from the 3-point line,” said Pacers coach Frank Vogel, who was delighted that his players limited the Magic to eight 3-point attempts during Monday’s second half.

“That’s what we’re preaching to our guys all series: It’s not good enough to challenge these guys. They shoot the ball too well. We’ve got to scramble out and limit their attempts.”

Power forward Ryan Anderson has had some open looks, but so far, he is averaging 8.0 points per game on 31.3 percent shooting.

“I think the key is just how we can move the ball better and get everybody more open,” he said.

And how do they do that?

Van Gundy said there is no easy fix, and he added that any adjustments would not be major.

“Stan will figure it out,” shooting guardJ.J. Redicksaid. “We’ll get better shots. He’s smart enough to make the adjustments, and we have guys on our team who can figure out the adjustments, and we’ll get better shots.”

jbrobbins@tribune.com

An answer is necessary.

The taller, more athletic Pacers have held the Magic to 37.6 percent shooting in these playoffs. Orlando’s postseason fate, including the critical Game 3 at 7:30 Wednesday night at Amway Center, obviously hinges on the Magic jumpstarting their sputtering offense.

When Orlando ended its regular season, its concerns centered around its defense, not its offense. In its first 11 games without Dwight Howard, the Magic had allowed opponents to shoot 50.0 percent from the field. But the Magic’s own offense made 43.8 percent of its attempts and did a better job of moving the ball than it did with Howard on the floor.

Scoring becomes tougher in the playoffs. That’s a given.

But the Magic have not been able to overcome the Pacers’ height. Center Roy Hibbert, who is 7 feet 2, has blocked 11 shots in the two games.

Hibbert and the Pacers’ other active big men have made it more difficult for Nelson to get to the rim, even on his bread-and-butter play, pick-and-rolls.

And there have been times when the Magic have been too impatient, choosing to take ill-advised, difficult shots early in the shotclock when more ball movement could have led to better opportunities.

According to the website HoopData, Magic center Glen Davis has attempted 13 shots from between 16 and 23 feet, where he’s not at his best. He’s gone 3-for-13 from that distance in the series.

Earl Clark has gone 0-for-5 from that distance.

Orlando struggled from 3-point range in its Game 2 loss, making just 32.0 percent of its shots from beyond the arc.

“If you don’t play the right way defensively, you’ll get drilled from the 3-point line,” said Pacers coach Frank Vogel, who was delighted that his players limited the Magic to eight 3-point attempts during Monday’s second half.

“That’s what we’re preaching to our guys all series: It’s not good enough to challenge these guys. They shoot the ball too well. We’ve got to scramble out and limit their attempts.”

Power forward Ryan Anderson has had some open looks, but so far, he is averaging 8.0 points per game on 31.3 percent shooting.

“I think the key is just how we can move the ball better and get everybody more open,” he said.

And how do they do that?

Van Gundy said there is no easy fix, and he added that any adjustments would not be major.

“Stan will figure it out,” shooting guardJ.J. Redicksaid. “We’ll get better shots. He’s smart enough to make the adjustments, and we have guys on our team who can figure out the adjustments, and we’ll get better shots.”

jbrobbins@tribune.com

Copyright © 2012, Orlando Sentinel

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An answer is necessary.

The taller, more athletic Pacers have held the Magic to 37.6 percent shooting in these playoffs. Orlando’s postseason fate, including the critical Game 3 at 7:30 Wednesday night at Amway Center, obviously hinges on the Magic jumpstarting their sputtering offense.

When Orlando ended its regular season, its concerns centered around its defense, not its offense. In its first 11 games without Dwight Howard, the Magic had allowed opponents to shoot 50.0 percent from the field. But the Magic’s own offense made 43.8 percent of its attempts and did a better job of moving the ball than it did with Howard on the floor.

Scoring becomes tougher in the playoffs. That’s a given.

But the Magic have not been able to overcome the Pacers’ height. Center Roy Hibbert, who is 7 feet 2, has blocked 11 shots in the two games.

Hibbert and the Pacers’ other active big men have made it more difficult for Nelson to get to the rim, even on his bread-and-butter play, pick-and-rolls.

And there have been times when the Magic have been too impatient, choosing to take ill-advised, difficult shots early in the shotclock when more ball movement could have led to better opportunities.

According to the website HoopData, Magic center Glen Davis has attempted 13 shots from between 16 and 23 feet, where he’s not at his best. He’s gone 3-for-13 from that distance in the series.

Earl Clark has gone 0-for-5 from that distance.

Orlando struggled from 3-point range in its Game 2 loss, making just 32.0 percent of its shots from beyond the arc.

“If you don’t play the right way defensively, you’ll get drilled from the 3-point line,” said Pacers coach Frank Vogel, who was delighted that his players limited the Magic to eight 3-point attempts during Monday’s second half.

“That’s what we’re preaching to our guys all series: It’s not good enough to challenge these guys. They shoot the ball too well. We’ve got to scramble out and limit their attempts.”

Power forward Ryan Anderson has had some open looks, but so far, he is averaging 8.0 points per game on 31.3 percent shooting.

“I think the key is just how we can move the ball better and get everybody more open,” he said.

And how do they do that?

Van Gundy said there is no easy fix, and he added that any adjustments would not be major.

“Stan will figure it out,” shooting guardJ.J. Redicksaid. “We’ll get better shots. He’s smart enough to make the adjustments, and we have guys on our team who can figure out the adjustments, and we’ll get better shots.”

jbrobbins@tribune.com

Copyright © 2012, Orlando Sentinel

All comments are filtered for vulgar language, for web addresses and for e-mail addresses. Those will cause comments to generate an error message or not to post. Registration on OrlandoSentinel.com is required to comment. The Sentinel makes no guarantee of comments’ factual accuracy. Readers may report inappropriate comments by clicking the Report Abuse link. (Here are the full legal terms you agree to by posting a comment.)

It was a rough night for a beat up Orlando Magic team that prides itself on its toughness.

With All-Star center Dwight Howard out of the lineup and slew of injuries hobbling the remaining players on the roster, the Magic have to get by with heart, effort, grit and gumption.

However, the Indiana Pacers stole from the Orlando bag of tricks and out-worked Magic in the third quarter of Monday night’s game to cruise to a 93-78 win. The Pacers evened the series 1-1. Game 3 is set for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Amway Center.

At least the Magic can say they didn’t have the worst night in the NBA. That honor goes to Amare Stoudemire, who punched a fire extinguisher in frustration after the New York Knicks’ not-so-surprising second consecutive loss to the Miami Heat Monday night. Stoudemire’s gashed his hand, was sent to the hospital for stitches and it seems unlikely he’ll return to the Knicks lineup during the remainder of the playoffs.

Stoudemire’s antics dominated the national spotlight Monday night and Tuesday morning, but here’s a closer look at extensive coverage of the Orlando Magic-Indiana Pacers series:

– Orlando Sentinel: Orlando Magic fall apart in 3rd quarter, lose Game 2 to Indiana Pacers

– Orlando Sentinel’s Mike Bianchi: Pacers beat Magic, but Big Baby is playing like a grown man– Orlando Magic rewind: A closer look at what went right, wrong during Magic’s loss

– Magic GM will visit Dwight Howard in the Los Angeles area on Tuesday

– Indianapolis Star’s Bob Kravitz: Pacers rediscover how they earned No. 3 seed

– Indianapolis Star: NBA Playoffs 2012: Pacers thump Magic 93-78, even series

– Indianapolis Star: Pacers find a go-to player in David West

– Indianapolis Star Pacers notebook: Magic’s Glen Davis gives Roy Hibbert a challenge

– Indianapolis Star Blog: Huge third quarter blows the game open

– Indianapolis Star: Why don’t we give the Pacers more love?

– ESPN.com True Hoop: Pacers even the score with Magic

But here in Indiana, Game 1 isn’t viewed as a Magic success. It’s regarded as a Pacers failure, as a quintessential choke job, as both Indianapolis Star columnist Bob Kravitz wrote today and the Star’s Pacers beat writer, Mike Wells, noted in his article focusing on Danny Granger.

Those views also are accurate.

The Pacers took a 77-70 lead with 4:05 to go and never scored again. And Granger, the Pacers’ top scorer, missed a pair of free throws with 1:14 left, flubbed a 2-footer off the glass with 45.9 seconds remaining and traveled with 7.5 seconds to go, setting in motion a hilarious dance by Chris Duhon.

Do not underestimate the importance of the Magic of winning Game 1 as opposed to winning Game 2.

Indiana has far less playoff experience than Orlando, and all of those predictions that the Pacers would win the series in a walk likely put additional pressure on the Pacers.

Are doubts creeping in now?

Maybe.

But as much as the Pacers wilted down the stretch, they never fully utilized their advantages.

Let us count the ways:
• Roy Hibbert blocked nine shots and collected 13 rebounds, but he did not establish strong enough post position against Davis. According to the website HoopData, Hibbert made three of his six shot attempts from 3 feet and in. But Hibbert only tried one shot from 3 to 9 feet. And he tried one shot from 10 to 15 feet and three shots from 16 to 23 feet. Davis deserves credit for that. But Hibbert has to get more looks closer to the hoop.

• Indy never fully utilized Paul George’s athleticism and height advantages, and George didn’t take make good with the opportunities he did have, going just 4 for 11 from the field.

• And, worst of all, the Pacers missed nine of their 22 foul shots, which is inexcusable for any team, let alone one that considers itself a title contender.

Follow Josh Robbins on Twitter at @JoshuaBRobbins and e-mail him at jrobbins@orlandosentinel.com. Subscribe to our Orlando Magic newsletter at OrlandoSentinel.com/joinus.

Copyright © 2012, Orlando Sentinel

All comments are filtered for vulgar language, for web addresses and for e-mail addresses. Those will cause comments to generate an error message or not to post. Registration on OrlandoSentinel.com is required to comment. The Sentinel makes no guarantee of comments’ factual accuracy. Readers may report inappropriate comments by clicking the Report Abuse link. (Here are the full legal terms you agree to by posting a comment.)

INDIANAPOLIS — The Orlando Magic’s 81-77 win over the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 is being hailed in Orlando as a triumph of solidarity, team spirit and physical toughness.

All true. Magic players united once the team belatedly announced that Dwight Howard had a herniated disk, and the team grew even closer once Howard underwent back surgery. Meanwhile, Hedo Turkoglu, Glen Davis and Earl Clark played hurt in Game 1. The “We All We Got” motto isn’t a bunch of lip service; the players and coaches truly believe it.

But here in Indiana, Game 1 isn’t viewed as a Magic success. It’s regarded as a Pacers failure, as a quintessential choke job, as both Indianapolis Star columnist Bob Kravitz wrote today and the Star’s Pacers beat writer, Mike Wells, noted in his article focusing on Danny Granger.

Those views also are accurate.

The Pacers took a 77-70 lead with 4:05 to go and never scored again. And Granger, the Pacers’ top scorer, missed a pair of free throws with 1:14 left, flubbed a 2-footer off the glass with 45.9 seconds remaining and traveled with 7.5 seconds to go, setting in motion a hilarious dance by Chris Duhon.

Do not underestimate the importance of the Magic of winning Game 1 as opposed to winning Game 2.

Indiana has far less playoff experience than Orlando, and all of those predictions that the Pacers would win the series in a walk likely put additional pressure on the Pacers.

Are doubts creeping in now?

Maybe.

But as much as the Pacers wilted down the stretch, they never fully utilized their advantages.

Let us count the ways:
• Roy Hibbert blocked nine shots and collected 13 rebounds, but he did not establish strong enough post position against Davis. According to the website HoopData, Hibbert made three of his six shot attempts from 3 feet and in. But Hibbert only tried one shot from 3 to 9 feet. And he tried one shot from 10 to 15 feet and three shots from 16 to 23 feet. Davis deserves credit for that. But Hibbert has to get more looks closer to the hoop.

• Indy never fully utilized Paul George’s athleticism and height advantages, and George didn’t take make good with the opportunities he did have, going just 4 for 11 from the field.

• And, worst of all, the Pacers missed nine of their 22 foul shots, which is inexcusable for any team, let alone one that considers itself a title contender.

Follow Josh Robbins on Twitter at @JoshuaBRobbins and e-mail him at jrobbins@orlandosentinel.com. Subscribe to our Orlando Magic newsletter at OrlandoSentinel.com/joinus.

INDIANAPOLIS – Don’t count the Orlando Magic out just yet.

Jason Richardson and Jameer Nelson scored 17 points apiece to help sixth-seeded Orlando, playing without Dwight Howard, surprise the third-seeded Indiana Pacers 81-77 in Game 1 of the first-round Eastern Conference playoff series on Saturday night.

Howard, the Magic’s leading scorer and the league’s top rebounder, will miss the rest of the season after having back surgery. The Magic played defense Howard would have been proud of down the stretch, overcoming a seven-point deficit by holding the Pacers scoreless for the final 4:05.

David West scored 19 points, Danny Granger added 17 and Roy Hibbert had eight points, 13 rebounds and nine blocks for the Pacers. Granger traveled with 7.5 seconds left and the Pacers trailing by three.

Game 2 will be Monday night in Indianapolis.

Orlando took a 68-67 lead on a dunk by Earl Clark with 9:41 remaining, but the Pacers held the Magic scoreless for nearly five minutes to take a 75-68 lead.

A 3-pointer by Richardson cut Indiana’s lead to 77-75. The Pacers missed 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions, and Granger missed two free throws with 1:14 left.

NO. 3 PACERS (42-24) vs. NO. 6 MAGIC (37-29)

Season Series
Magic, 3-1.

Series Revolves Around …
Momentum. Nobody expects Indiana to lose this series, because Dwight Howard is in post-op, giving a 10-deep Indiana team a perfect opportunity to hit the ground running, put four quick victories in the bank, and convince themselves that they can compete with Miami in the second round.

Key Matchups
Roy Hibbert versus Whoever. Hibbert is a 7-2, 265-pound All-Star capable of the occasional dominant night, but this is just cruel: With Howard sidelined by back surgery, the Pacers center will match up initially with the 6-9 Glen Davis, who has a bad ankle; and then with Daniel Orton, who until April 7 had played 20 minutes in his NBA career.

Savvy Fan Is Watching
The clock, no doubt. Once this is over, Stan Van Gundy will effectively fire Orlando, take his talent to the TV booth for a year or two, and the Magic will go on about searching for someone (Donnie Walsh is ready, willing, and able) who might — might — restore their dignity.

Our Take
Pacers in 5

Today at Pacers 7 p.m. ESPN
Monday at Pacers 7:30 p.m. NBATV
Wednesday at Magic 7:30 p.m. NBATV
May 5 at Magic 2 p.m. ESPN
*May 8 at Pacers TBD TBD
*May 11 at Pacers TBD TBD
*May 13 at Pacers TBD TBD

For the first time since 2004, when they made it to the Eastern Conference Finals, the third-seeded Indiana Pacers will begin their playoff run at home. The Pacers will face the sixth-seeded Orlando Magic in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

The Magic will be without All-Star center Dwight Howard, who recently underwent surgery in Los Angeles to repair a herniated disk. It is unlikely that he will attend any of his team’s playoff games. Howard’s surgeon has advised him not to travel and to spend the next three weeks in Los Angeles to undergo rehabilitation treatment.

At the start of April, Orlando held a one-and-a-half-game lead over the Pacers for third place in the Eastern Conference. Since then, the Magic and Pacers have gone in opposite directions. With Howard out of the lineup for all but two games, Orlando suffered their first losing month of the season with a record of 5-9 during the month of April. The Pacers, powered by seven straight wins between April 9 and April 19, had the best month of their season by winning 12 of 15 contests.

Indiana Pacers versus Orlando Magic Eastern Conference First-Round Schedule

Game 1: Saturday, April 28, Orlando Magic at Indiana Pacers, 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN

Game 2: Monday, April 30, Orlando Magic at Indiana Pacers, 7:30 p.m. ET on NBA TV

Game 3: Wednesday, May 2, Indiana Pacers at Orlando Magic, 7:30 p.m. ET on NBA TV

Game 4: Saturday, May 5, Indiana Pacers at Orlando Magic, 2:00 p.m. ET on ESPN

Game 5: Tuesday, May 8, Orlando Magic at Indiana Pacers, TBD (if necessary)

Game 6: Friday, May 11, Indiana Pacers at Orlando Magic, TBD (if necessary)

Game 7: Sunday, May 13, Orlando Magic at Indiana Pacers, TBD (if necessary)

The Magic and Pacers met four times during the regular season with Orlando winning the season series 3-1. Howard played in all four of those games. But since Superman will not even be in the building during this series, Orlando will have to get some magical performances from some of their non All-Stars if they hope to keep pace with Indiana during the 2012 NBA Playoffs.

Orlando will likely try to create that magic from behind the three-point line. During the regular season, the Magic made (10.2 per game) and took (27.0 per game) more three-pointers than any other team in the NBA. Their 37.5 percent three-point shooting percentage ranks third in accuracy from that distance.

However, many of those three-point shot opportunities were open looks that were created by opposing teams double-teaming Howard in the post. With Howard out of the lineup, it is unlikely that the Pacers will send many double teams during this series.

Indiana’s All-Star center, Roy Hibbert, who stands 7’2″, should have no problem defending the Magic’s 6’9″ Glen Davis (who will likely start in Howard’s absence) one on one. That will allow the Pacers’ wing players, namely Paul George and Danny Granger, to stay attached to Orlando’s three-point shooters.

Without Howard in the lineup, most of the Magic’s three-point shot opportunities will be contested. Unless Orlando’s three-point shooters can find a way to consistently make contested shots, the Magic will find it difficult to win even one game in this series.

Prediction: Pacers 4-0

Mark is a lifelong fan of the NBA who has loved the game of basketball ever since his first trip to an NBA arena. Mark has watched more basketball games than anyone can count and has more than 100 articles about the NBA published on the internet. Mark also shares his random NBA musings and game-by-game predictions on RandomNBAFan.com.

Information from NBA.com’s 2012 Playoffs Schedule; ESPN.com’s Surgeon for Dwight Howard of Orlando Magic ‘optimistic’ center will play next year, Orlando Magic 2012 Schedule, Indiana Pacers 2012 Schedule and 2011-12 Regular Season NBA Team Stats was used for this article.

“I think they don’t have a chance,” Webber answered. “You have a chance because you’re playing in the playoffs, but I think their chances are slim because of the inside presence of [Roy] Hibbert. Even though [Ryan] Andersoncan stretch the court, the inside presence of their players, the scoring inside, I don’t think they can handle it without the shot-blocking presence of Dwight Howard.

“Dwight Howard is the Orlando Magic’s team defensively,” Webber continued. “He’s been that way since they’ve had him; they’ve recycled players in and out. And so when he’s not there, the lane will be wide open for penetration, also for post-ups, also for rebounding, offensive and defensive, which will allow Indiana to control the pace.

“And mainly, there’s not an intimidation factor. Nobody fears Orlando without Dwight Howard. Some might even say they wouldn’t be there without Dwight Howard. So I would definitely say that Indiana has the upper hand.”

Smith agreed.

“Like Chris said, the blueprint for the Orlando Magic, through Otis Smith and through Stan Van Gundy on both ends, is funnel everything defensively into Dwight,” Steve Smith said.

“Now you don’t have that shot-blocker there. Big Baby’s playing center, and they definitely can stretch. But I think on the offensive end, the way Stan has played and the way Otis has acquired players, is for Dwight to get double-teamed and play four-out, one-in and live and die by the 3.

“But you can see right now they’ve struggled a lot with no double-team presence as far as an offensive guy without Dwight. All these guys have had to make plays on their own, and they’ve struggled a little bit.”

Follow Josh Robbins on Twitter at @JoshuaBRobbins and e-mail him at jrobbins@orlandosentinel.com. Subscribe to our Orlando Magic newsletter at OrlandoSentinel.com/joinus.

Copyright © 2012, Orlando Sentinel

All comments are filtered for vulgar language, for web addresses and for e-mail addresses. Those will cause comments to generate an error message or not to post. Registration on OrlandoSentinel.com is required to comment. The Sentinel makes no guarantee of comments’ factual accuracy. Readers may report inappropriate comments by clicking the Report Abuse link. (Here are the full legal terms you agree to by posting a comment.)

ORLANDO — J.J. Redick had six 3-pointers and scored a career-high 31 points as the Orlando Magic held off Charlotte 102-95 on Wednesday night, the Bobcats’ 22nd consecutive loss.

Ryan Anderson added 24 points and 13 rebounds for the Magic, who snapped a three-game losing streak and secured the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference but lost forward Glen Davis to a sprained right ankle. He is the latest injury to strike the Magic’s roster and drain an already shallow pool of Orlando big men following Dwight Howard’s season-ending back surgery.

D.J. Augustin led the Bobcats with 23 points, while Gerald Henderson had 17 and Derrick Brown 16.

Charlotte (7-58) heads into its season finale today needing to beat New York to avoid the worst winning percentage in NBA history. The longest losing streak in NBA history was the 26 games by Cleveland last season.

The Magic were active early offensively and beginning to cruise late in the first quarter when Davis stepped on Byron Mullens’ foot and rolled his ankle.

He limped off the court, though initial X-rays taken on the ankle in the locker room were negative. His status is day-to-day.

The injury couldn’t have come at a more inopportune time for Orlando, which has seen starters Hedo Turkoglu (facial fracture) and Howard both under surgery in the past month.

Howard, of course, is gone for the rest of the season as he continues rehabilitation in California. Turkoglu may return as early as Thursday’s regular-season finale against Memphis.

The Bobcats rallied after Davis’ injury and cut what was a 17-point first-half deficit to 67-66 late in the third quarter.

Orlando got it back up to 10 points entering the fourth quarter before seeing one final push by Charlotte.

It was 89-84 when Henderson was whistled for his fifth personal foul and forced to the bench with just over 6 minutes to play. That was immediately followed by Jason Richardson’s third 3-pointer of the game to give the Magic a little more breathing room. He finished with 17 points and nine rebounds.

A 3 later by Redick made it 95-86 and following a Charlotte miss Redick nailed his final 3 of the game to push the lead back to 12 points with 4:26 to go.

If the Bobcats lose against the Knicks, their 7-59 record and .106 winning percentage would eclipse the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers and their mark at .110, when they went 9-73.

The Orlando Magic will have plenty of bulletin-board fodder as their first-round playoff series against the Indiana Pacers approaches.

The vast majority of basketball analysts and prognosticators don’t like the Magic’s chances.

I asked TNT/NBA TV analyst Chris Webber and NBA TV analyst Steve Smith during a Turner Sports conference call to offer their take on a Magic-Pacers series and specifically whether the Magic had a chance without their All-Star center, Dwight Howard.

“I think they don’t have a chance,” Webber answered. “You have a chance because you’re playing in the playoffs, but I think their chances are slim because of the inside presence of [Roy] Hibbert. Even though [Ryan] Anderson can stretch the court, the inside presence of their players, the scoring inside, I don’t think they can handle it without the shot-blocking presence of Dwight Howard.

“Dwight Howard is the Orlando Magic’s team defensively,” Webber continued. “He’s been that way since they’ve had him; they’ve recycled players in and out. And so when he’s not there, the lane will be wide open for penetration, also for post-ups, also for rebounding, offensive and defensive, which will allow Indiana to control the pace.

“And mainly, there’s not an intimidation factor. Nobody fears Orlando without Dwight Howard. Some might even say they wouldn’t be there without Dwight Howard. So I would definitely say that Indiana has the upper hand.”

Smith agreed.

“Like Chris said, the blueprint for the Orlando Magic, through Otis Smith and through Stan Van Gundy on both ends, is funnel everything defensively into Dwight,” Steve Smith said.

“Now you don’t have that shot-blocker there. Big Baby’s playing center, and they definitely can stretch. But I think on the offensive end, the way Stan has played and the way Otis has acquired players, is for Dwight to get double-teamed and play four-out, one-in and live and die by the 3.

“But you can see right now they’ve struggled a lot with no double-team presence as far as an offensive guy without Dwight. All these guys have had to make plays on their own, and they’ve struggled a little bit.”

Follow Josh Robbins on Twitter at @JoshuaBRobbins and e-mail him at jrobbins@orlandosentinel.com. Subscribe to our Orlando Magic newsletter at OrlandoSentinel.com/joinus.