Indiana's game plan was to drape two defenders on Shaquille O'Neal and hope his fouls would add up quicker than theirs.
The strategy worked, and O'Neal went to the bench with five fouls with 9:22 to go and his team leading by eight, 78-70.Soon after, Indiana went on a 13-0 run, turning the game around in a 99-86 victory Monday night that gave the Pacers a sweep of the best-of-5 series.
Indiana advanced to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since joining the NBA in 1976.
Coach Larry Brown assigned Rik Smits and Antonio Davis to guard O'Neal, who was held to four points after picking up his fifth foul.
"I just hope the next time we play I get more respect," O'Neal said. "This is my third year. I'm not a rookie anymore. I should get more respect. The rule says you can't push off the back, so if somebody pushes me off the block I want the call."
Smits and Davis also finished with five fouls apiece. Reggie Miller scored 31 for the Pacers, including eight in the 13-0 run.
"That was our main focus coming into the series," Miller said of stopping O'Neal. "How we were going to guard him, how we were going to limit him, how we were going to double-team him.
"If you had told me we'd beat them three straight, I'd have laughed in your face," Miller said.
The Pacers led much of the first half before a 10-point streak at the end of the second quarter put Orlando up 52-46 at the break. Miller, scoreless in the second period, had 10 in the third quarter and spent the first four minutes of the fourth quarter on the bench as the Magic took their biggest lead at 78-70.
Indiana outscored Orlando 18-2 over the next six minutes.
"I was trying to lay low and see what was going to happen, see what kind of defense they were going to throw at me," said Miller. "I picked my opportunity and did what I had to do. I got a lot of good looks at the basket, and my shot was on.
Indiana next will play either Miami or Atlanta, whose series is tied at one victory apiece.
"We've got a long way to go," he said. "Anything can happen in a seven-game series."
The loss sent Orlando home after the first playoff appearance in its five-year history.
"We could have easily been three up instead of three down," Magic guard Nick Anderson said. "We're young and we're learning. We will grow on this."
Orlando coach Brian Hill did not talk to the media after the game.
Nuggets 110, SuperSonics 93
In Denver, Reggie Williams scored 31 points, Dikembe Mutombo had 19 points and 13 rebounds and the Denver Nuggets outhustled the Seattle SuperSonics to salvage Game 3 of their best-of-5 playoff series.
The Nuggets, displaying a more effective inside game than the Sonics, bolted to a 15-point first-quarter lead. The Sonics couldn't get their deficit below seven the rest of the way.
Denver, which was outrebounded 104-78 in the first two games, held a 43-25 advantage this time, outshot the visitors 60 percent to 42 percent and blocked 12 shots to Seattle's three.
The victory, which snapped an 11-game playoff losing streak for the Nuggets, was their first in the postseason since May 14, 1988.
Detlef Schrempf led the Sonics with 18 points and Sam Perkins had 17.