Paolo Banchero explodes for 50 points as Magic top Pacers

Paolo Banchero became Orlando’s first player with a 50-point game in 20 years and flirted with a triple-double Monday night to lead the Magic past the visiting Indiana Pacers 119-115.Banchero finished with 50 points and matched Tracy McGrady’s franchise record for points scored in a half, putting up 37 in the first.While Banchero fell short of McGrady’s Magic record 62 points in a March 2004 game, the third-year forward joined McGrady, Shaquille O’Neal and Nick Anderson as Orlando’s only 50-point scorers.Banchero shot 16-of-26 from the field and made 11 of 15 free throws. He added a game-high 13 rebounds and a team-best nine assists.His heroics offset a balanced scoring effort from the Pacers, who lost their third straight game and were coming off an overtime defeat in the second leg of a back-to-back with Philadelphia on Sunday.Pascal Siakam’s 26 points led six Indiana scorers in double-figures. Among them was Tyrese Haliburton, who posted his first double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 assists. Haliburton also had nine rebounds.Haliburton helped ignite a 39-22 third quarter for Indiana to flip a 12-point halftime deficit into a 98-93 lead entering the fourth.The Pacers built an eight-point cushion in the fourth before Orlando battled back. The Magic held Indiana to five points in the final five minutes while chipping away at the deficit.