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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- One way or another, Jalen Rose was going to
get the ball.
Rose scored 26 points, getting three straight 3-pointers midway
through the fourth quarter, a clinching free throw with 17 seconds
left and a rebound at the buzzer as the Indiana Pacers beat the
Milwaukee Bucks 88-85 in a playoff opener Sunday night.
|  | | Milwaukee forward Scott Williams and Indiana counterpart Austin Croshere hit the floor battling for a loose ball. |
"I was just trying to be aggressive," Rose said.
He also was trying to make up for lost time spent on the bench
with foul trouble.
"It's a challenge when you come into a game and try to play
offense and defense," said Rose, who finished with five fouls.
"In the fourth quarter, the guys did a good job getting me open
and I knocked down a few shots we needed."
Game 2 in the best-of-five Eastern Conference series will be at
Conseco Fieldhouse on Thursday night.
Rose had 12 points in the first quarter but went cold until his
late run. The Bucks, meanwhile, survived their own poor shooting,
came back from a 13-point deficit and tied the game 62-62 after
three quarters on six straight points by Sam Cassell.
Two baskets by Tim Thomas -- one a 3-pointer -- at the start of
the final quarter gave Milwaukee its biggest lead at 67-62 before
Rose took over.
"The main thing was we kept our composure," he said. "When
they took the lead, we didn't get discouraged."
The Bucks' final edge was 69-68 before Rose's first 3-pointer
with 6:28 to go, and Indiana went up 79-71 after two more
3-pointers by Rose. Ray Allen, who had 22 of his 26 points in the
second half, pulled the Bucks within 85-84 with a minute to go.
Travis Best then scored for the Pacers and Cassell hit one of two
free throws with 43 seconds left.
Reggie Miller, who had 21 points for the Pacers, then missed a
shot, but the ball went out of bounds to Indiana with 18 seconds
left. Rose was immediately fouled as the ball was inbounded and
went 1-of-2 from the line for the final point.
Milwaukee got off two more shots, but Thomas missed a 3-pointer
and Rose grabbed the ball at the buzzer to save the victory.
"We really didn't have a set play," Thomas said. "I had a
good shot at it, but I was a little too anxious."
Cassell finished with 18 points for Milwaukee. Glenn Robinson
added 11 points but went just 4-for-17 from the field. The Pacers'
Dale Davis had 12 points, 17 rebounds and four blocked shots.
"Dale hurt us in the paint," Bucks coach George Karl said.
"He is a man. In the past, we've had success driving into the
paint against Indiana, but we didn't get to the rim tonight because
of Dale Davis."
Indiana coach Larry Bird said Rose's defense on Robinson also
was a big key.
"Jalen played him as well as you can play him," Bird said.
"He ran the floor, he defended and he made some big shots."
The top-seeded Pacers, who swept the Bucks 3-0 in a first-round
series last year, seemed to take control with Rose's early scoring.
Indiana was 1-for-12 at the start of the second quarter but still
led by 12 points late in the period after a rebound basket by
Davis.
Robinson, who missed his first six shots, hit two straight for
the Bucks, and late in the period two free throws by Robinson and a
basket by Cassell cut Indiana's lead to 40-34.
Mark Jackson's 3-pointer pushed the Pacers back on top by nine,
then Davis, who had 12 rebounds in the first half, put back a miss
by Jackson with a half-second left for a 45-34 lead at the break.
Game notes
Allen, who played only six minutes in the Bucks' final
regular-season game because of a knee sprain, played 34 minutes
against the Pacers but was only 9-for-22 on field goals. ...
Milwaukee's 105-84 victory at Indiana last month was the Pacers'
worst of five losses at home this season. ... Milwaukee's last
playoff victory was May 1, 1990, against Chicago. The Pacers have
reached the Eastern Conference finals the past two years. ... The
Bucks' Darvin Ham, who played for the Pacers briefly three years
ago, was 4-for-5 in the third quarter but received a technical foul
for hanging on the rim after a dunk. ... Cassell and Indiana's Austin Croshere received technicals after a shoving match early in
the final period. ... Robinson, Allen and Cassell were 7-for-29 in
the first half. ... Best took five stitches above his left eye
after being knocked to the floor in the fourth quarter.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Milwaukee Clubhouse
Indiana Clubhouse
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