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Wednesday, Dec. 1 10:00pm ET
Miller snaps out of shooting funk | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -- Reggie Miller credits his shooting breakthrough to some friendly advice from home. Miller, coming off a 2-for-9 performance, scored 26 points and the Indiana Pacers handed the Vancouver Grizzlies their ninth straight loss, 96-89 on Wednesday night. "My father watches every game and he breaks down the tapes for me and told me I was rushing my shots and saying, `It looked like you were in a hurry,"' Miller said. "I've been really hesitant as of late. I just wanted to slow down a little bit and take my time. ... Once you make the first few shots, things just kind of flow after that." Miller, who finished 7-for-12 from the field, sealed the victory by sinking four free throws in the final two minutes, as both offenses struggled down the stretch. "I just got back to basics," he said. "I don't care if I go 0-for-20, I'm still going to shoot the basketball. That's what I get paid to do." Dale Davis added 17 points and eight rebounds while Austin Croshere, coming off the bench, scored eight of his 13 points in the fourth quarter as the Pacers improved to 9-0 all-time against the Grizzlies. Shareef Abdur-Rahim scored 24 points and added 10 rebounds while Othella Harrington chipped in with 15 points and eight boards for the Grizzlies, who have lost nine straight. Both teams went cold at the end. After Travis Best completed a three-point play to put the Indiana ahead 88-81, the Pacers' remaining six points came from the foul line, including two from Best. The Grizzlies, who scored eight straight points to grab a 89-88 lead on rookie Obinna Ekezie's put back with 2:13 remaining, were shut out the rest of the way. Miller's two free throws put the Pacers ahead for good, giving Indiana a 90-89 lead with two minutes remaining. "When (Miller) scores we usually win," Pacers coach Larry Bird said. The Grizzlies blew numerous chances to get back the lead, including Abdur-Rahim's tip rolling off the rim with 1:01 left. After Miller sunk two more free throws, the Grizzlies missed two more field goal attempts as Mike Bibby missed a lay in and Abdur-Rahim missed a two-foot putback attempt. "I thought we got good shots and that's all you can ask for at the end of the game," Grizzlies coach Brian Hill said. "We were point blank on a couple of them. ... We got good execution, we got good shots and tonight they didn't go down." Hill, who's NBA coaching record leveled off at 221-221 -- he's 30-117 with the Grizzlies -- following the loss, remained hopeful. "You saw a team come out and play well and play hard, play determined. We just have to keep it going because we're going to get a breakthrough game and that's what we need right now," Hill said. Veteran swingman Dennis Scott, making his Grizzlies debut after missing the first 14 games with a pulled hamstring, showed that he hadn't lost his shooting touch. Scott hit three 3-pointers in the first half and finished with nine points. The inconsistent Pacers, who improved to 10-8, have only won two or more in a row once this year, when they put together a three-game streak to improve to 5-2. Miller said it was important for the Pacers to beat the Grizzlies in order to get on some kind of roll after winning at Portland on Monday. "That Portland win wouldn't have meant anything if we came in here and didn't get this one," said Miller, whose Pacers wrap up their four-game road trip in Utah on Friday night.
Game notes | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Indiana Clubhouse Vancouver Clubhouse RECAPS Cleveland 111 Washington 108
Indiana 96
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