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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- If the Utah Jazz expected the Indiana
Pacers to be tired on the final night of their Western road swing,
they were wrong.
| | Karl Malone managed 16 points against the tough Pacers defense, but it was far from enough. |
Reggie Miller scored 31 points and Jalen Rose had 17 as the
Pacers beat the uninspired Jazz 100-75 on Friday night, giving
Indiana three victories on its four-game road trip.
Instead of the Pacers shuffling up and down the court, it was
Utah that seemed to need of a break. The Jazz suffered their worst
defeat since a 105-78 loss to Houston on Feb. 23, 1993.
"You'll learn nothing from this game except that we got our
butts waxed at home," said Jazz forward Karl Malone.
Miller heated up in his last two games for the Pacers, who beat
Portland and Vancouver after losing to Seattle during their six-day
trek.
"Tonight was fun to watch because they moved the ball," said
Indiana coach Larry Bird. "They were very unselfish. On the
defensive end, we were trying to help each other and stop
penetration. We are playing a lot better."
After failing to reach 20 points for a seven-game span, Miller
had 26 in Wednesday's win at Vancouver.
"We're street-balling out there and that helps," Miller said.
The 6-foot-7 Miller took advantage of his matchup against 6-4
Jeff Hornacek.
"I was getting the ball in good position," Miller said. "I
felt I could work Jeff a little bit off screens and I used my
height advantage low in the post to create shots for myself."
Mark Jackson and Al Harrington each added 12 points against
Utah. Jackson added nine assists.
Malone had 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Hornacek scored 10.
Utah came out flat and never found a rhythm, while Miller hit
7 of 13 and scored 19 points in the first half. Indiana capitalized
on Utah's streaky defense and 39 percent shooting (16-of-41) to
build a 55-40 halftime lead.
It might as well have been over right there, but Utah briefly made things interesting with a small run in the third quarter.
The Pacers led 67-46 when Jackson was called for a turnover and
then got a technical foul when he slammed the ball to the floor
with 6:26 left in the third quarter.
For good measure, Jackson kicked over a courtside fan's popcorn
bag. Hornacek made the free throw and added a jumper to ignite a
9-3 burst that briefly got Jazz fans involved.
But as quickly as Utah's energy level climbed, it dropped just
as fast.
With Indiana leading 70-55, Jackson completed a three-point play
and Miller scored the Pacers' next seven points to stretch the lead
to 80-59 entering the fourth quarter.
The only time Utah was in the game was after the first quarter,
trailing 27-23. The Pacers built early leads of 18-8 and 24-14 but
the Jazz rallied to trim the deficit going into the second period.
Miller took over, scoring eight points in the second quarter as
Indiana shot 12-of-22 (54 percent). Harrington added six in the
period.
"They beat us with plain old simple basketball," said Utah
coach Jerry Sloan. "They posted us up. They got offensive
rebounds. They drove to the basket. Anything they wanted to do,
they just took advantage of us."
Game notes Jazz center Greg Ostertag left at halftime because of a
family emergency. His infant daughter had surgery Friday morning
but team officials had no other details. ... Stockton needs eight
points to reach 16,000 for his career while Hornacek's 10 points
put him right at 15,000. ... Miller made 10-of-10 from the foul
line against Vancouver and hit 6-of-7 against the Jazz. ... Besides
the worst loss in seven years, it was Utah's third-worst defeat at
the Delta Center.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Indiana Clubhouse
Utah Clubhouse
RECAPS
Boston 96 Miami 84
Toronto 95 Washington 93
Philadelphia 102 Cleveland 100
Detroit 102 San Antonio 80
Indiana 100 Utah 75
Orlando 112 Denver 100
Charlotte 113 Vancouver 94
LA Lakers 93 Portland 80
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