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Wednesday, Apr. 5 8:00pm ET
Nets play without Marbury | |||||
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 GAME FLOW
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Rik Smits scored 25 points and then sat out the entire fourth quarter as his Indiana Pacers nearly blew a 20-point second-half lead. Jalen Rose made three free throws and Reggie Miller hit two -- all in the final 17 seconds -- as Indiana held off the New Jersey Nets 105-101 Wednesday night. Coach Larry Bird said he decided to keep veteran Sam Perkins in the game for rebounding. "We were trying to get Sam on the boards, plus he's a pretty good defensive player," Bird said. "A lot of our guys really weren't interested in playing, especially down the stretch. We had five guys who played decent; the rest didn't play at all." Keith Van Horn had 26 to lead an injury-plagued New Jersey team which was playing without leading scorer Stephon Marbury for the first time this season and lost Evan Eschmeyer with a sprained left ankle early in the second quarter. Marbury didn't make the trip because he is scheduled to have an MRI on a sore right knee on Thursday. Smits scored 17 points in the first quarter to give Indiana a lead it never lost. "He had a lot of good looks. He was very active. He did a lot of good things. He got off to a great start and had a great game," Bird said. "I was able to use my speed against (Gheorhje) Muresan," Smits said of the 7-foot-7 New Jersey center, who started but quickly picked up two fouls. "Not that I have a lot of speed, but I have more than him." Smits had no complaint over Bird's decision to keep him on the bench in the fourth period. "I would love to have more minutes. It's a coach's decision. These days, I'm surprised when I get 30 minutes or more," he said after playing just 27 minutes. "Sam is there (in practice) every day. He's been working hard, so I really have no complaints." New Jersey trailed by as many as 20 points in the second half, but reduced its deficit to 98-97 on a 3-pointer by Van Horn with 47.7 seconds remaining. Perkins then found Dale Davis open for a dunk with 33.4 seconds left. Davis was fouled on the shot, but missed the free throw and New Jersey got the rebound. Scott Burrell missed a layup off a drive and Rose snared the rebound. He was fouled and made both free throws, giving Indiana a 102-97 lead. Kendall Gill's driving layup brought New Jersey to within three again until Miller sank two free throws with 11.2 remaining. Van Horn got a dunk with six seconds to go and then Rose made one-of-two free throws with 5.2 remaining. Johnny Newman scored 20 for New Jersey, while Gill and Elliot Perry had 14 apiece. "If we could have controlled Rik Smits in the beginning it would have been a different story," Van Horn said. "We can't let someone like Rik, a second-option guy, hurt you." Indiana had five players in double figures. Rose finished with 17 and 10 rebounds. Davis also had a double-double with 11 points and 11 boards, while Mark Jackson scored 16. The victory reduced Indiana's number for clinching a second consecutive Central Division title to any combination of two Pacers victories or Charlotte losses. It also put Indiana 2 1-2 games ahead of Miami in the race for home court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs. Indiana appeared to have broken the game open as it scored 14 consecutive points in an 18-2 run early in the third quarter. Rose had six points during Indiana's 14-point run, starting with a jumper with 10:59 left in the period. His 19-foot jumper with 7:59 remaining ended the run, giving the Pacers a 62-47 lead. The Pacers went on to take their biggest lead of the game at 79-59 and took a 79-65 advantage into the fourth period.
Game notes | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard New Jersey Clubhouse Indiana Clubhouse RECAPS Philadelphia 107 Atlanta 86
Indiana 105
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