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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Reggie Miller is ready for the playoffs.
Miller, angered by a technical foul in the third quarter, scored
10 of his 29 points in the fourth period and added a pair of
clinching free throws with three seconds left in overtime as the
Indiana Pacers beat the Boston Celtics 113-108 Friday night.
It was a season-high sixth straight victory for the Pacers, who
have three games left in the regular season and still have a chance
to catch Orlando for the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference.
"You want to play well going into the playoffs," Miller said.
"Yes, we had clinched (a spot) and we'd been playing much better,
but it only takes one game to send this young team the other way.
"We have to continue to get better, and this was a big win for
us."
It also was Indiana's 10th straight victory at home, its
second-longest winning streak in the 2-year-old Conseco
Fieldhouse.
"All we asked them to do was go out and win the game, and
that's what they did," coach Isiah Thomas said. "We're playing
good basketball.
"Tonight was a particularly tough game emotionally because, for
days, everyone had pointed to this game as being crucial, and then
we clinched (on Wednesday). It says a lot for our team. Our guys
were really trying to reach down and find the juice."
Miller, fuming over a non-call on what he thought was a foul
against him minutes earlier, went to the bench with the Pacers
leading 70-62. Still complaining, he received a technical foul, and
by the time he returned at the start of the fourth quarter, the
game was tied at 79.
"It was a technical. That's all," said Miller, refusing to
talk about it.
A 3-pointer by Antoine Walker, who led Boston with 37 points,
gave the Celtics their last lead at 84-81, then a basket by Tyus
Edney and a 3-pointer by Miller put the Pacers back in front.
Indiana built the lead to 104-96 after another 3-pointer by
Miller, but Boston scored the final eight points of regulation on
3-pointers by Walker and Paul Pierce and a steal and layup by Milt
Palacio.
A last-second shot by Miller was no good, sending the game into
overtime.
There was one more tie in the overtime before a basket by Travis
Best, off an assist by Miller, put Indiana ahead 108-106. Indiana
took a 111-108 lead on one free throw by Jermaine O'Neal, but
Walker missed a 3-point attempt that would have tied the game.
Miller got the rebound and was fouled immediately, sending him to
the line for his final free throws.
"I got a good look at the basket at the end but I just rushed
it," Walker said. "I don't know if Indiana thought we weren't
going to come in and play hard. They came out and jumped on us like
gangbusters. They came out with a lot of energy and it took awhile
for us to counter them. But we started to buckle down on defense
and started to make shots."
O'Neal added 18 points, 13 rebounds and four blocked shots for
the Pacers. Pierce backed Walker with 19 points for the Celtics.
Al Harrington, scoreless in seven minutes against the Knicks on
Wednesday, had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Indiana. He hit his
first three shots as the Pacers took an early seven-point lead.
Boston stayed close at the free throw line, however, pulled within
three on a rebound basket by Walter McCarty and tied the game at 14
on a 3-pointer by Walker midway through the first period.
A 3-pointer by McCarty gave the Celtics their first lead at
17-16 and there were two more lead changes before a steal by Best
and fast-break basket by Miller.
Two straight baskets by Best gave Indiana a 31-26 lead at the
end of the quarter, then a layup and free throw by Best started a
10-2 Indiana run at the start of the second period.
Indiana took its biggest lead, 47-32, on a basket by Jonathan
Bender before the Celtics closed within 64-53 at halftime.
Game notes
A victory at Chicago on Sunday would put the Pacers at .500
for the first time since they were 11-11 in December. ... Indiana
won the season series with Boston (3-1) for the sixth straight year
and ninth time in the past 13 years. ... O'Neal's double-double was
his 39th of the season, tops in the Eastern Conference. ...
Walker's seven assists gave him 428 for the season, the most for a
Boston player since Larry Bird had 431 in 1991. ... Hall of Famer
Bill Russell, sitting at courtside, was greeted with a hug by
former Pacers center Mel Daniels during a first-quarter timeout.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Boston Clubhouse
Indiana Clubhouse
RECAPS
Washington 113
Orlando 110
Cleveland 97
New Jersey 91
New York 101
Atlanta 65
Indiana 113
Boston 108
Toronto 94
Miami 82
Utah 94
Chicago 83
Dallas 101
Sacramento 97
Denver 108
Golden State 92
Phoenix 109
Seattle 100
Houston 109
Portland 103
LA Clippers 111
Minnesota 105
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