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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
CHICAGO (AP) -- Fred Hoiberg has seen Reggie Miller take over in
the fourth quarter hundreds of times. And it was a lot more fun
when he was on Miller's team.
Hoiberg couldn't do much more than watch as his old teammate
scored 15 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter Tuesday night as
the Indiana Pacers held off the Chicago Bulls 90-85. Jermaine
O'Neal secured the victory with a pair of free throws and a blocked
shot in the final 29 seconds.
"If you put a hand on him, he's somehow going to get a foul.
Yet if he gets a step on you, he's got such a high release and that
fadeaway, you just have to put a hand up and hope he misses," said
Hoiberg, a member of the Pacers for four years. "He's a big-time
clutch player. I watched him do it for four years, and it was a lot
more fun when he was on my side."
The victory was Isiah Thomas' first as a coach in Chicago, where
he grew up and played at St. Joseph High School in Westchester.
"I didn't think about where we were playing," said Thomas,
whose mother watched from the sidelines. "I just wanted a win."
O'Neal finished with 11 points, 13 rebounds and five blocked
shots. Travis Best had 19 points and 10 assists before fouling out,
and Jalen Rose had 13.
Elton Brand led the Bulls with 17 points and seven rebounds, and
Ron Mercer finished with 15 despite starting the night 0-for-12.
"It felt like there was a lid on the hole," Mercer said. "I
tried to stay aggressive and tried not to think about it. The worst
thing you can do is not shoot."
And once he found his groove with a steal and a fastbreak dunk
with 54 seconds in the third, he got on a roll. Down by 15 late in
the third, Mercer made five shots in a row to pull the Bulls within
79-76 on a 15-footer with 3:35 left.
Miller made two free throws, but the Bulls answered right back
with a hook shot by Brand and two free throws from Mercer. Miller
buried another 3-pointer, his third of the quarter, to push
Indiana's lead back to 84-80 with 1:23 left.
"Reggie took over the game in the fourth quarter," Bulls coach
Tim Floyd said. "He did a tremendous job of making space, getting
to the free throw line and making clutch shots."
Brand made a free throw and then Mercer hit another jumper to
cut the lead to 84-83 with 41 seconds left. But the Bulls couldn't
get any closer. Brand fouled O'Neal in a scrum under the basket
with 29 seconds left, and O'Neal made both shots to give Indiana an
86-83 lead.
He then blocked Mercer's layup attempt with about 25 seconds
left, and the Bulls were forced to foul.
"I was struggling shooting the ball, so I just picked it up
with the rebounding and the blocks," said O'Neal, who was 4-of-12.
The Pacers certainly didn't look like they were trying to do
Thomas proud in the first half. They scored just 38 points, three
off their season-low for the half, and turned the ball over 11
times.
Still, they only trailed 39-38 at the half, and they opened the
third quarter with a 10-1 run. Best keyed a 15-3 run midway through
the third with 10 points, giving Indiana a 63-48 lead with 2:16
left.
"It was definitely money in the bank," Best said. "I thought
we played a lot better (in the third), especially defensively, and
it carried over offensively."
Game notes
Tim Hardaway holds the all-time mark for field goal
futility, going 0-for-17 in 1991. ... No matter where he lives,
Thomas still considers Chicago home. "Anytime I come home, back to
Chicago, it's a great feeling, a special feeling. This is where my
family is at." And how many tickets did Thomas need for all of his
friends and family? "Too many," Thomas said, laughing. ... Bulls
center Brad Miller, who missed the last 20 games with a broken bone
in his right hand, was activated before the game, two days earlier
than he'd expected. "There wasn't any pain after working out
Friday. There wasn't any pain (Monday), either. Might as well try
it," Miller said. He scored four points and had two rebounds in 12
minutes.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Indiana Clubhouse
Chicago Clubhouse
RECAPS
Toronto 103
Utah 95
Atlanta 87
New York 77
LA Lakers 81
Miami 79
Indiana 90
Chicago 85
San Antonio 86
Houston 79
Detroit 89
Phoenix 84
Golden State 120
Minnesota 99
Sacramento 106
Washington 72
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal swats Ron Mercer's shot late in the game.
avi: 501 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Reggie Miller Official Site
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