"Miller Time" again! Pacers Beat Jazz 96-88.

[Pooh]

By Johnnie Clay - Pacers Insider.
March 6, 2004 - 3:00 AM.

"Uncle Reggie" does it again...

For the second time in as many nights, Reggie Miller came through when needed, burying a huge three-pointer to preserve a victory for the Indiana Pacers.

Tonight's win, however...was significant for two reasons. One, the Pacers swept the Jazz for the first time since the 1999-2000 season. And two, the win helped clinch a playoff berth for the Pacers.

Another familar patter from previous nights' was Ron Artest's ability to bring the Pacers back when it appeared as if the team was going to once again let a huge lead fall by the waists side.

Artest's two clutch baskets with under three minutes remaining, broke the 86-86 tie. The Jazz had
clawed back from being down 15 points the previous quarter to take the lead late in the fourth.

"I just wanted the ball," Artest said. "At crunch time, I just do what it takes to win."

Since coming back from thumb surgery last month, Artest has been nothing short of just amazing. His two clutch baskets set the stage for Miller, whose three-pointer with 24 seconds remaining, finally put away the pesky Jazz, 96-88.

In the beginning, it seemed as if the Pacers were once again, going to run away and hide with a huge lead. Reggie Miller set the tone early with a pair of three-pointers as the Pacers quickly jumped out to an 11-0 lead. With the help of free-throws, (The Pacers visited the line 12 times in just the first quarter alone) the Pacers managed to extend the lead to 12 points, (35-23) at the end of the first quarter.

The Pacers continued to put the clamps down on the Jazz, pushing their lead the up to 15 points, when the Jazz offense started clicking. A 12-2 run, narrowed the gap somewhat, but the Pacers quickly regained their composure and ended the quarter with an 8-0 run of their own, heading into halfime up 57-44.

The third quarter was more of the same, the Pacers continued to maintain a solid lead, while the Jazz continued to tread water. A Jermaine O'Neal basket, midway through quarter gave the Pacers a 15-point lead, 70-55. Then suddenly it was the Pacers offense that went cold, going nearly four minutes without a basket. During that time, however...the Jazz quickly went on a run, going 11-2 to end the quarter, now only down six points, 72-66 as they entered the final quarter.

The Pacers clung to their now small lead until a 10-2 run by the Jazz, cultimating with an Andrei Kirilenko dunk, gave the Jazz the lead at 81-80. For the third time in as many games, the Pacers have seen huge leads slowly slip away in the final quarter. The Pacers themselves no that something like this can't continue if they want to reach their goal of making the finals.

"We have a lot of confidence when a game's on the line. But what we've got to do is find a way to put away games earlier. You just can't let guys come back and get the lead." Ron Artest said about the past few games by the Pacers.

Both teams traded baskets for a few minutes, it wasn't until the Jazz once again tied the contest up at 86-86 that they finally ran out of steam. Then Artest and Miller took over.

Artest hit two baskets, that followed three consecutive stops by the bend, but don't break Pacers defense, then it was "Miler Time" as his three-pointer gave the Pacers the cushion they needed to go on and win the game.

"Big-time players have to make big-time plays on the road," coach Rick Carlisle said about the duo of Artest and Miller. "Tonight was a great example."

The Pacers shot 48% (28-58) from the floor, and once again shooting 50% (6-12) from the arc. The free-throw shooting improved again tonight, as the Pacers shot an eye-popping 90% (34-38) from the charity stripe.

Jermaine O'Neal led the Pacers this evening with 30 points, and 10 rebounds. O'Neal continued to struggle from the floor once again, going (9-19) but made up for it by hitting 12 free-throws.

Artest and Miller were the only other Pacers' starters in double-figures for the night. Artest scored 17 points, grabbing 4 rebounds and dishing out 5 assists, while Miller pitched in with 16 points. It was Miller's hot shooting from three-point land, (4-7) that was the difference tonight.

The other two starters were off in opposite directions. Pacers' center Jeff Foster had another solid outing, scoring 7 points and 5 rebounds. However Jamaal Tinsley finally came back down to Earth after having multiple nights' of double-figure scoring and in assists, scoring just 4 points and handing out 5 assists. Tinsley could blame his off night on a sprained right toe, which he suffered while landing awkwardly on a breakaway layup late in the first half. However, Tinsley did return to the lineup without incident in the second half.

As mentioned earlier, tonights' win allowed the Pacers to become the first NBA team this season to clinch a playoff berth, the Pacers victory was their fourth in a row overall, improving their record to 46-16, 22-10 on the road. The Pacers also 30 games over .500 for the first time in an NBA regular season.

Jermaine O'Neal talked about what victories like this means and what it tells other teams around the league about the Pacers.

"This is the time of the year to send messages to other teams," O'Neal said. "Other teams are watching the standings now. If they see the Indiana Pacers winning tough games, they'll know we're going to be extremely tough to beat in the playoffs and there's going to be a doubt in their mind when the playoffs start. We just want to do what we're doing. Maintain what we're doing and win as many games as we can."

The Pacers are winning these tight games where they count the most...on the road. The end of this current road trip will be on Sunday night, as the Pacers travel to Colorado to face rookie sensation Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets. The two teams haven't faced one another since November 4th of last year, with the Pacers taking that game 71-60 at Conseco Fieldhouse.

In that game, the Nuggets' flashy rookie was just (1-13) from the floor, scoring just two points, his teammates didn't fare any better, going a combined 2-26 from the field. The Pacers were led by Jermaine O'Neal who scored 25 points and grabbed 20 rebounds.

Game Time Sunday is at 10:00 PM (EST).

[pacersrule03]

I love it! Reggie hits a 27-footer to seal the win and he waves goodbye to the crowd. What a badass. Ron Artest was completely dominating kirilenko when ak was guarding him. The pacers gave it to ron 3 times in the last two minutes and he backed down ak and dominated him.