Pacers

Throughout the more than six months of the NBA lockout, a time when Kenny Anderson contemplated selling his eighth car and Shawn Kemp got lumpy, the Indiana Pacers were diligently working out.For the most part, 10 players participated -- including most of the team's key components."

Schedule says Boston Dave Hyde Sun Sentinel After 22 straight wins, the schedule-maker will beat the Heat more than the Celtics on March 18. This is how it happens in the NBA, where regular-season wins and losses have to be measured by the schedule. The Celtics game is the third road game in four days for the Heat. They play at Milwaukee (March 15), at Toronto (March 17) and then in Boston. The Celtics, meanwhile, only play the lowly Bobcats in the four nights leading up to the game.

NEW YORK -- After Indiana's win over the New York Knicks here Wednesday, Pacers coach Larry Brown said his team had to win at home Friday to clinch the Eastern Conference title.No way, Brown said, could the Pacers possibly think about beating the Knicks twice in a row at Madison Square Garden.But that difficult task confronts the Pacers after Friday's 98-91 loss to the Knicks at Market Square Arena.The Knicks used their home-court advantage in the conference semifinals, when they defeated the Chicago Bulls in Game 7. Now New York looks to do the same thing to reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 1973.

Washington... The Washington Wizards lost another game in excruciating fashion, this time failing to hold a lead in the final seconds and falling to Indiana, 114-113, on Saturday night before 13,171 at Verizon Center. The Wizards' losing streak reached four games, and they wasted a triple double by Gilbert Arenas (22 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds) and strong performances from Antwan Jamison (31 points) and Caron Butler (23 points). After Arenas missed two free throws, T.J. Ford drove to the basket and put up a shot that was blocked out of bounds as the buzzer sounded.

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia (AP) -- Reggie Miller scored 12 of his 29 points in the final period and the Indiana Pacers made up a 10-point deficit to defeat the injury-depleted Washington Bullets, 97-96, in an NBA exhibition game last night.Miller made all 12 of his free throws, and the Pacers outscored Washington, 34-18, at the foul line.Harvey Grant scored 22 points for Washington, and Tony Harris had 21.

NEW YORK -- On a night when the New York Knicks looked as if they would blow a golden opportunity to reach the NBA Finals, Patrick Ewing refused to let his team lose.Ewing came up with The Game of his eight-year career last night, and scored the biggest basket on a follow-up dunk that put the Knicks up for good with 26.9 seconds left as New York defeated the Indiana Pacers, 94-90, to win the Eastern Conference championship.It's the first conference championship since 1973 for the Knicks, who next will face the Western Conference champion Houston Rockets in the NBA Finals, which start Wednesday.

Mike Dunleavy scored 28 points and the host Indiana Pacers beat the Atlanta Hawks, 112-98, last night to avoid elimination from the Eastern Conference playoff race. A win by the Hawks would have knocked the Pacers from playoff contention. Instead, the Pacers are just two games behind the Hawks for the eighth spot. Joe Johnson led Atlanta with 30 points. Trail Blazers 112, Lakers 103 -- Brandon Roy had 23 points and 12 assists to lead host Portland to an upset of Los Angeles. Jazz 77, Hornets 66 -- Mehmet Okur's 22 points and 17 rebounds helped visiting Utah clinch the Northwest Division title.

NEW YORK -- Patrick Ewing missed the open layup. Missed it with John Starks screaming for the ball in the left corner. Missed it with Reggie Miller thinking the Knicks would win in overtime. Missed it with his dream of an NBA title hanging in the balance.These things happen for a reason. This one had nothing to do with Ewing, and everything to do with the Indiana Pacers, "the train that couldn't get up the mountain" in the words of backup conductor -- er, point guard -- Haywoode Workman.Few expected The Little Train That Could to climb Mount Ewing and pull out of the fabled arena that sits atop New York's Penn Station yesterday, but guess what?

Bill Blair, an assistant coach with the Washington Bullets the past seven seasons, accepted a similar position with Indiana yesterday, becoming part of the staff hired by new Pacers head coach Larry Brown.This will mark the second time that Blair, 50, a native of Whitesburg, Ky., has worked with Brown, who coached the Los Angeles Clippers last season and is starting in his fifth NBA city.They worked together in the 1981-82 season, when Brown coached the New Jersey Nets.Brown quit just before the playoffs to accept the job at the University of Kansas.

When the Washington Bullets and Indiana Pacers square off at the Baltimore Arena tonight, don't be surprised to find promoters Bob Arum and Don King as courtside spectators, searching for new boxing talent.Said Bullets coach Wes Unseld, who has been portrayed as both a peacemaker and instigator in past scuffles, depending on your point of view: "I don't think we like each other. That's no secret, and it shows up on the floor."It is not listed in the Ring record book, but several Bullets and Pacers have been fined for their extracurricular activities during the past two seasons.

Pacers forward Danny Granger , the team's leading scorer, will be out for at least four weeks with a foot injury. The team said Tuesday that Granger would miss a minimum of four to six weeks with a torn right plantar fascia, the tissue across the bottom of the foot connecting the heel and toes. The Pacers say Granger won't need surgery and is starting rehabilitation. Granger left the floor in the third quarter of Saturday's game against the Clippers. Granger is averaging 24.4 points a game this season for the Pacers, who have lost nine of their last 10 games following a five-game winning streak.

Jazz beats Pacers for 12th win in row nba Mehmet Okur scored 24 points and the Utah Jazz beat the host Indiana Pacers, 112-100, last night for its 12th straight victory. Paul Millsap finished with 22 points and nine rebounds, Ronnie Brewer scored 18 points and Deron Williams had 12 assists for the Jazz (41-23), which moved closer to the franchise record of 15 consecutive victories. Troy Murphy hit seven three-pointers and scored 23 for Indiana (28-38). Other results: : Tim Duncan had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and the host Spurs (43-20)

1 Eagles soaring: After being dumped by the Ravens, the Eagles beat two division winners (the Cardinals and Giants) to get back into the playoff race. They host the Browns tonight (8:30, ESPN). 2 UConn tuneup: The Connecticut men's basketball team should be able to clear the bench when it hosts Stony Brook (7 p.m., MASN). 3 Looking for wins: After firing their coach earlier in the season, the Wizards would like to see some victories, and there's no better time than tonight against the Pacers (7 p.m., Comcast SportsNet)

The Washington Wizards' backups were more than enough to eliminate the very sub-.500 Indiana Pacers from the playoff race, 117-110, last night in Washington. Wizards coach Eddie Jordan went to his bench early and often, getting 31 points from Roger Mason, 14 from rookie Nick Young and little resistance from the Pacers' defense. The Wizards, who have won five of six, entered the game with a chance to gain home-court advantage in their coming first-round playoff series against Cleveland.

Mike Dunleavy scored 28 points and the host Indiana Pacers beat the Atlanta Hawks, 112-98, last night to avoid elimination from the Eastern Conference playoff race. A win by the Hawks would have knocked the Pacers from playoff contention. Instead, the Pacers are just two games behind the Hawks for the eighth spot. Joe Johnson led Atlanta with 30 points. Trail Blazers 112, Lakers 103 -- Brandon Roy had 23 points and 12 assists to lead host Portland to an upset of Los Angeles. Jazz 77, Hornets 66 -- Mehmet Okur's 22 points and 17 rebounds helped visiting Utah clinch the Northwest Division title.

Donnie Walsh was hired yesterday as president of the New York Knicks, and said he would wait a few days before deciding on Isiah Thomas' future with the organization. The Knicks hired the longtime Indiana Pacers executive and gave him complete power to oversee basketball operations of a team finishing its seventh straight losing season. "His mandate is clear -- do whatever is necessary to turn this team around," Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan said. New York hasn't won a playoff game under Thomas, its president since December 2003.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana's Reggie Miller, NBA trash-talker extraordinaire, had been unusually quiet through the first three games of the Eastern Conference finals. That changed yesterday -- but the violent nature of this series did not.Miller chatted incessantly in the crucial closing minutes, drawing the heavy-handed attention of New York Knicks guard Derek Harper, as the Pacers pocketed an 83-77 victory.The win tied the best-of-seven series at two games each and left the Knicks, a team that was thought capable of blasting Indiana away in four or five games, rattled and angry.

NEW YORK -- From all the whooping and hollering in and around Madison Square Garden, one would have thought that the New York Knicks had won the NBA title. But forward Charles Oakley wants everyone to hold off on the celebration."You have to remember that we were here last year -- the Eastern Conference finals," Oakley said. "We're not over the hump yet. We have a long, long way to go."But the major step was taken Sunday, in an 87-77 win by the Knicks that ended the three-year reign of the Chicago Bulls -- the team that had eliminated New York for three straight seasons.

Martell Webster had 23 points, Travis Outlaw added 20 and the host Portland Trail Blazers overcame the loss of top scorer Brandon Roy to beat the Washington Wizards, 102-82, last night. Caron Butler had 19 to lead Washington, which was missing Gilbert Arenas after he had his return from knee surgery pushed back a week. Jarrett Jack added 17 points and Joel Przybilla had 17 rebounds for the Blazers, who shot 49.4 percent despite Roy leaving with a strained right groin on the last play of the first quarter.