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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – For the first 21 minutes, the
Indiana Pacers seemed to forget they were fighting for a playoff
spot. Once they remembered, the New Jersey Nets and the Boston
Celtics were in trouble.
|  | | Tyus Edney had 11 points in only 17 minutes for Indiana. |
Jalen Rose scored 19 points in Indiana's season-high 41-point
third quarter and the Pacers improved their playoff chances by
beating the injury-riddled Nets 108-83 Sunday.
"We had a sub-par first half and we knew it couldn't get any
worse than that," said Pacers' forward Jermaine O'Neal, who had 20
points, 12 rebounds and six blocked shots. "We wanted to come out
in the second half and run those guys because they have so many
guys out with Stephon (Marbury) and Kenyon (Martin). We knew this
game should not have been close."
The win was the third straight for the Pacers and increased
their lead over the Celtics to 1½ games in the race for the final
playoff berth in the Eastern Conference.
The Pacers (36-40) have six games left, one more than the
Celtics (35-42). The teams play each other once, at Indiana Friday.
"We're getting to the playoffs," Rose guaranteed after
finishing with 29 points. "It's just a matter of us getting better
as a team. We're not trying to get to the playoffs as a moral
victory. We're trying to go into the playoffs and make a splash."
If Indiana plays every quarter like it did the third, that could
happen. The Pacers hit 18 of 23 shots from the field and ran away
from the Nets.
"We were able to rebound and run and that made the game easy,"
Pacers coach Isiah Thomas said.
Indiana also got big contributions off the bench from Tyus
Edney, Austin Croshere and Jeff Foster.
Edney got the Pacers' offense in sync after Travis Best picked
up his third foul early in the second quarter. Croshere added 15
points, while Foster had 13 points, 12 rebounds and did an
outstanding job of guarding Keith Van Horn after the Nets forward
scored 13 points in the first quarter.
Johnny Newman led the Nets with 22 points, and Van Horn added
21. The two combined for 26 points in the first quarter, helping
the Nets take a 33-25 lead.
The lead grew to 12 early in the second quarter and it was 51-43
after Van Horn converted a three-point play with 2:59 left in the
half.
After that, it was all Pacers, starting with a 17-0 run bridging
the end of the second quarter and the start of the third.
Reggie Miller, who had 12 points, hit a 3-pointer that ignited
an 8-0 run at the end of the second quarter. Foster also had three
points and O'Neal tied the score at 51 with a 20-foot jumper with
3.2 seconds left in the half.
Rose said Thomas was angry at halftime.
"It was loud enough," Rose said.
The Pacers and Rose then went on a tear in the third quarter,
outscoring the Nets 41-12.
O'Neal hit two baskets inside, Foster converted a three-point
play on a break and Rose hit a jumper for the first nine points of
the second half.
Rose hit 8 of 9 shots in the quarter, including all three of his
3-pointers.
"The last three minutes of the second quarter and the whole
third quarter were the worst 15 minutes of basketball I've seen us
play this year," rookie New Jersey coach Byron Scott said.
"We just disintegrated," Van Horn said.
Game notes
The win was only the 13th in 39 games on the road for the
Pacers. ... The Nets and Pacers split the four-game season series.
... The 41 points were the most given up the Nets in a quarter this
season. The previous high was 39 against Sacramento. ... The Nets
signed forward Mark Strickland and guard Eddie Gill to their second
10-day contracts. ... New Jersey now has four players, including
Doug Overton and Jamel Thomas, on 10-day contracts.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Indiana Clubhouse
New Jersey Clubhouse
RECAPS
Miami 81
New York 76
Indiana 108
New Jersey 83
Sacramento 98
Portland 89
Toronto 100
Chicago 88
LA Lakers 104
Minnesota 99
San Antonio 84
Golden State 76
Seattle 101
Milwaukee 88
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