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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
INDIANAPOLIS -- Jalen Rose broke out of a shooting slump the
only way he knew how. He kept shooting.
"There are shots and plays you practice every single day.
Sometimes they go in and sometimes they don't. You've got to keep
playing and stay aggressive," said Rose, who had a season-low
seven points, but hit a big 3-pointer with just over a minute to go
to save Indiana's 82-73 victory over the Detroit Pistons on
Thursday night.
"It was a shot we needed at the time, being up five, and they
were making a run," Rose said. "I just had to keep playing and
shooting. There wasn't really anything going on in my head at the
time, just that I had a shot and wanted to knock it down."
Rose was 2-for-10 with six straight misses before his 3-pointer
put the Pacers up 76-68, and the Pistons never recovered.
Reggie Miller led the Pacers with 19 points and Austin Croshere
also came up with two big 3-pointers in the final period as the
Pacers snapped a three-game losing streak.
"Jalen didn't have a good offensive game, but in terms of
distributing the ball, he was big for us," said Indiana coach
Isiah Thomas, noting Rose's game-high nine assists. "We definitely
will take it. I thought our defensive effort was great."
Jerry Stackhouse had 40 points for the Pistons, who cut a
14-point Indiana lead to four early in the final period. Croshere
then hit back-to-back 3-pointers, and after Detroit again pulled
within five, Rose hit from long range to put the game out of reach.
Indiana scored its final six points on free throws, with two
apiece by Croshere, Travis Best and Miller.
"I'm not one to make excuses normally, but I think fatigue was
a factor," Stackhouse said. "We couldn't get any shots to go
down. We had good ball movement and some good open looks, but we
just couldn't hit any."
Al Harrington added 16 points for the Pacers, while Best and
Croshere finished with 11 apiece. John Wallace, who fouled out with
21 seconds to go, had 11 points and was the only other Piston in
double figures besides Stackhouse.
"He's high-octane," Thomas said of Stackhouse, who was
14-for-28. "He gets up a lot of shots. We just wanted to make sure
we contain everybody else and keep them out of the game."
Besides Stackhouse and Wallace, the other Pistons combined for
6-of-43 shooting.
"We didn't get any easy shots, but we couldn't hit the shots we
got, although I was pleased with our effort," Detroit coach George
Irvine said.
Detroit had just five field goals in the first quarter, but the
first four were on 3-pointers, three by Stackhouse. His third gave
the Pistons their final lead at 15-14 before an inadvertent
3-pointer by Harrington -- he was trying to lob the ball to a
cutting Best -- put the Pacers ahead for good.
Sam Perkins, just activated after six games on the injured list,
hit two baskets at the end of the first quarter, then Miller and
Croshere scored the first two baskets of the second period as
Indiana took its first 10-point lead.
The Pacers built the lead to 12, but Stackhouse hit two free
throws and scored on a drive to the basket, pulling the Pistons to
38-30. Three more baskets by Stackhouse cut the lead to six before
two free throws by Best gave Indiana a 46-38 lead at the break.
The Pacers' biggest lead was 52-38 early in the third quarter.
Game notes
Stackhouse, who entered the game third in league scoring at
29.4 a game, has led Detroit in points in 45 of his 50 games this
season. ... The Pacers have won six straight against Detroit. ...
Miller, who hit one 3-pointer, needs eight more to extend his NBA
record to 12 consecutive seasons with at least 100 3-pointers. ...
The Pacers avoided dropping eight games under .500 for the first
time since they were 22-30 during the 1991-92 season. ... The
Pacers are 7-10 when Miller is the leading scorer. ... Rose's
previous season-low was eight points against Portland on Jan. 25.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Detroit Clubhouse
Indiana Clubhouse
RECAPS
Indiana 82
Detroit 73
Miami 98
Toronto 91
Dallas 102
Cleveland 81
San Antonio 102
Washington 78
Portland 105
Sacramento 81
Boston 108
Seattle 88
Vancouver 99
Golden State 89
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Jerry Stackhouse Official Site
Reggie Miller Official Site
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