Midway through the fourth quarter of Game 1, it appeared as though the Indiana Pacers had woken up against the short-handed Orlando Magic. They led 77-70 at home with 4:05 left in regulation and were close to the bonus.

They were destined to take a 1-0 series lead despite a poor offensive performance, that is, until they failed to score another point.

Orlando scored 11 unanswered points to finish the game, stealing homecourt advantage from Indiana.

If the outcome was a worst-case scenario for the Pacers, it was the best-case for the Magic. Orlando didn’t shoot particularly well, hitting just 39.5% of their shots overall and 9-for-24 from three-point range. Heading into the series, I wrote that the Magic would have to get hot from deep to extend the series, but they won this one without needing to do so.

Indiana took care of the basketball and won the rebounding battle (+5), including 15 offensive rebounds, but they simply couldn’t get the ball in the basket.

The Pacers shot 34.5% from the field, 30.8% from three-point land and an embarrassing 59.1% (13-for-22) from the foul line.

Saturday night’s result was just one loss, not four, and if the Magic are going to advance to the semifinals they will still do so with hot shooting.

After Darren Collison hit a pull-up jumper with 4:05 left in regulation, the Pacers went 0-for-9 with two turnovers and two missed foul shots. Particularly disappointing were Danny Granger’s missed free throws with 1:14 left and Indiana clinging to a 77-75 lead.

Instead of going up by two possessions -- Granger shot 87.3% from the line during the regular season, the second-best percentage of his career -- he went 0-for-2 and Jason Richardson hit a three-pointer to give Orlando a 78-77 lead that they would never relinquish.

When it boils down to it, the outcome shouldn’t have been in doubt.

David West had his best effort of the season against the Magic, going 8-for-14 from the field for 19 points and nine rebounds. Roy Hibbert didn’t dominate offensively, but he flirted with a triple-double as he scored eight points (just 3-for-11 shooting), grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked nine shots.

Hibbert rejected Earl Clark and Glen Davis a combined seven times as the pair combined to shoot 10-for-26 from the field, but they were effective on the glass with 22 rebounds, including eight offensive grabs.

Hibbert wasn’t the only Pacer to struggle from the floor. Granger went 7-for-20, a stat-line characteristic of his efforts prior to the 11-12 season and Paul George wasn’t able to connect from deep (0-for-4). Overall, Indiana was 4-for-13 from three-point land, well below their season percentage.

Jameer Nelson quietly put his stamp on the game, with 17 points and nine assists, while his opposition (George Hill and Collison) did little. Collison has struggled since returning from a groin injury, at which point he was moved to the bench. In his final four appearances of the regular season, he was just 7-for-20 from the field with as many assists and turnovers (12).

Collison was just 1-for-7 in Game 1, including an ugly miss from the left corner with Orlando leading 80-77 and 12.1 seconds on the clock. Clark grabbed the rebound, effectively ending the game even though he missed a pair of free throws.

It is impossible to truly determine whether or not the Pacers underestimated the Magic without Dwight Howard, but it was clear that when things got difficult Indiana tended to press. After building a seemingly-comfortable lead in the first quarter, Granger and others forced offensive possessions as the Magic rallied to take a 51-44 halftime lead.

The Pacers held the Magic to 13 points in the third quarter, but they couldn’t close things out with just a few minutes remaining at home.

If they are going to rebound with a much-needed victory in Game 2 on Monday night, the Pacers are going to have to shoot the ball better, but they also have to control the rebounding battle more drastically and improve their shot selection in crunch time.

A majority of their shots were acceptable, but there were definite moments in which they forced tough attempts. Furthermore, I’m not sure why Frank Vogel had Collison playing a majority of the fourth quarter and taking perhaps the biggest shot of the game with the possibility of overtime looming. The old adage is that it’s not who starts the game, it’s who finishes it, but Hill had been playing late in recent weeks as well as starting.

I would have preferred a post attempt from West on what turned out to be the most important offensive possession of the game, or a variety of options other than an 18-footer from Collison, who had made just one of six prior attempts.

In searching for reasons for optimism, the Pacers played good defense and would have comfortably won Game 1 if they had even shot 38% from the field.