By Johnnie Clay - Pacers Insider.
March 22, 2004 - 11:45 PM.

The Indiana Pacers easily disposed of the Chicago Bulls Monday night, but there wasn't time to celebrate. All thoughts were on Jermaine O'Neal who suffered a sprained left knee during the second quarter. O'Neal is scheduled to undergo more tests on Tuesday, his status for the next few games are uncertained.

"It’s a combination of a bruise and a sprain." Pacers Coach Rick Carlisle said afterwards. "At this point it’s not deemed to be serious; but we’ll see how it is tomorrow. I’m not certain of his status but he’s probably doubtful for Wednesday night."

O'Neal was setting a pick during the second quarter when he collided with Chicago's Ronald Dupree. O'Neal needed assistance getting off the floor and into the dressing room.

And yes...there was a game too.

The Pacers used a 15-2 run to build a 28-14 lead late in the first quarter, a very physical quarter, a quarter which saw the Bulls' Eddy Curry go down on the first possession of the night via a smack by Jermaine O'Neal. The 14 point lead was the Pacers fourth consecutive game in which they've built a double-digit lead in the opening period. Unlike the others, they didn't let it disappear in the second, though the offense struggled.

The Pacers went nearly four minutes without scoring to start the period, but Chicago managed just one basket and got no closer than seven (33-26) in the period. Ron Artest scored the first seven points of a 10-0 run that made it 47-29 late in the half. The Bulls went nearly 5 minutes without a field goal to close the half and the Pacers took a 49-32 lead into the locker room.

The Pacers had seen large leads disappear over the past few games, tonight they made sure that would happen again, even without their franchise player.

“We’ve had big leads and we’ve been letting them get away. Tonight we kept the lead and got the win that we needed." Austin Croshere said.

The lead began to grow and grow, so much that Bulls Head Coach Scott Skyles pulled all of his starters early in the third quarter, as a way fo saying, "We give up." And gave up they did as the Pacers went on to a convincing 101-77 victory tonight.

Tonight's win put the Pacers back into a tie with the Sacramento Kings for the best overall record in the NBA. However, the Kings hold the tie breaker over them with their victory last Friday night.

Afterwards, the Pacers players and Coach talked about the urgency of tonights' win.

“That was a bittersweet game. Obviously we played pretty well and did a better job defensively." Rick Carlisle said. "I thought the rest of the guys did a good job pulling it together. The key guy after Jermaine went out was Ron Artest. He got shots, drew fouls and found open teammates. A lot of guys were real solid. The last few games offensively we haven’t screened very well. We set better screens and our timing was better. And when you make shots it’s an easier game. Tonight is a night we can feel good about."

"Any win is a big win; but this was very important to us as a team." Austin Croshere said.

"We haven’t lost three in a row all year and I just wanted to get that winning taste back." Reggie Miller said. "We got back to playing our game tonight."

The Pacers shot 40% (39-78) from the floor, but it was from the free-throw line where they really shinned, shooting a blistering 92% (34-37). Reggie Miller led the Pacers tonight with 17 points. Jermaine O'Neal had scored just 4 points and 6 rebounds before his injury midway during the first half. Ron Artest scored 15 points, pulled in 5 rebounds and had 4 assists. Center Jeff Foster had a great night, scoring 11 points and 8 rebounds. Jamaal Tinsley nearly had a double-double tonight, scoring 11 points and handing out 8 assists. Tinsley also had three steals tonight as well.

The bench was once agian led by sixth man Al Harrington, who scored 15 points and 5 rebounds. Austin Croshere and Freddie Jones each scored 9 points each, while also contributing in other areas as well. Croshere pulled down 7 rebounds while Jones had 5 assists.

With just one day off, the Pacers now prepare for their final game against the Western Conference, (that is until the finals of course) as the Dallas Mavericks come to Conseco Fieldhouse, Wednesday night. The Pacers beat the Mavs in Dallas 92-80 on January 9th as Jermaine O'Neal, Ron Artest and Al Harrington combined for 58 points and 30 rebounds. The game will mark the final appearance of the regular season for the Pacers' 1972-73 throwback uniforms. The Pacers, 19-8 against the West, can tie the franchise record for victories against the West (set in 1999-00).

Game Time Wednesday Night is at 8pm (EST).