INDIANAPOLIS — Paolo Banchero scored 29 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and hit a go-ahead driving bank shot with 7.5 seconds to go to give the Magic a 112-110 win over the Pacers on Wednesday afternoon at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

The Pacers have lost 10 straight games to fall to 6-28, holding the worst record in the NBA. The Magic improved to 19-15 and moved up to fifth in the Eastern Conference.

Guard Desmond Bane added 18 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Magic. Guard Anthony Black had 15 points and five assists. Center Goga Bitadze had 14 points and nine rebounds off the bench. Forward Pascal Siakam had 26 points to lead the Pacers. Guard Bennedict Mathurin had 23 points. Guard Andrew Nembhard had 19 points and seven assists. Forward Aaron Nesmith had nine points and 10 rebounds and guard Ben Sheppard had 12 points.

Pacers go step for step with Magic but Orlando makes last plays

The Pacers held steady with Orlando throughout the game despite a disadvantage around the basket. The Magic outscored the Pacers 70-38 in the paint, won the rebounding battle 50-39 and won 9-1 on second-chance points.

Still the Pacers caused 19 Magic turnovers and held them to 3 of 21 shooting at the 3-point arc. The Pacers hit 12 3s and knocked down 26 of 32 free throws to take advantages in those areas.

At the end of the day they were a stop away from forcing overtime and even then a shot away from winning the game once they failed to get that stop. However, Banchero spun past forward Aaron Nesmith for a bank shot to take the lead and drew a foul to put the Magic up with 7.5 seconds to go.

Nesmith had been switched on to Banchero earlier in the quarter when Siakam picked up his fifth foul and had some success, but he was put on an island on that play and Banchero got him.

“He made a nice spin move,” Nesmith said. “We stuck to our game plan at the time so I didn’t have any help. He made the spin move and a tough layup. That’s what good players do.”

He missed his free throw and the Pacers grabbed the rebound and called timeout, but the sideline-out-of-bounds play couldn’t produce anything better than. 30-foot 3-point attempt from Nesmith, which missed to the left.

Nesmith had the ball out of bounds and the Magic managed to dodge every attempt the Pacers made at a screen to try to get something going downhill. Nesmith passed the ball to Siakam then ran to the top of the key and Siakam passed it back to him, but Nesmith was too far away go get a good shot. He took the shot with about 3.5 seconds left on the clock and acknowledged he did have time to get a little better look than he did.

“The last play got blown up a little bit,” Nesmith said. “They did a good job of covering it. I thought I had less time than I did. I could’ve taken more time on the 3, set my feet and made the shot.”

Ben Sheppard returns and produces

Ben Sheppard returned to the Pacers on Wednesday after missing four weeks with a left calf strain. Just like Aaron Nesmith did when he returned on Saturday, Sheppard returned with a shooting rhythm.

In the first half, Sheppard was a perfect 4 of 4 from the floor including 2 of 2 from 3-point range and also 2 of 2 at the line for 12 points, tied with Bennedict Mathurin for second on the team. He played 8:27 but the Pacers were +11 in his minutes.

He was quiet in the second half, however, missing all three of his shots. He finished 4 of 7 for 12 points.

Pacers’ faith in Micah Potter growing

Micah Potter is not even a week into his Pacers career, having just signed his non-guaranteed deal on Friday. And given how the season has gone for the Pacers it’s anyone’s guess how long he’ll be able to stay in Indiana as “non-guaranteed” contracts have come with just slightly more job security than 10-day deals. That said, the Pacers have found work for him immediately and against the physical Magic, his contributions were necessary.

Potter didn’t put up much in the way of statistics, but he was +17 in the first half and started the second half instead of Jay Huff. With Paolo Banchero, Wendell Carter Jr., Goga Bitadze and Tristan da Silva operating around the rim, the Pacers needed someone who could at least hold their ground on defense and on box outs, and Potter did. He finished with eight points on 2 of 4 shooting, three rebounds and three assists but was +23 in 25:57.

Dustin Dopirak covers the Pacers all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Pacers Insider newsletter.