INDIANAPOLIS – Jermaine O’Neal had 24 points and 11 rebounds and Ron Artest had 20 points as the Indiana Pacers defeated the Phoenix Suns 92-81 Sunday and clinched their 13th playoff berth in the last 14 seasons.
The Pacers have won two straight games after dropping 15 of 19 to fall into fourth place in the Eastern Conference. They have two games left with teams ahead of them in the standings – Detroit on April 4 and New Jersey on April 16.
Indiana is starting to show signs of playing like the team that was 22 games over .500, not the one plagued the last two months by injury, suspension and off-court distractions.
The Pacers took control with one fast spurt late in the first half.
Bucks 109, Heat 87
MILWAUKEE – Gary Payton had 24 points and Sam Cassell had 23 points and nine assists as the Milwaukee Bucks snapped a three-game losing streak, using a big first half to defeat the Miami Heat 109-87 Sunday.
Toni Kukoc added 18 points, Michael Redd 14 and Desmond Mason had 11 points and 11 rebounds for Milwaukee, whose reserves outscored Miami’s 47-25.
Rookie Caron Butler led the Heat with 24 points, Mike James added 15 and Eddie House 12, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Heat from losing their 12th game in the last 16.
Raptors 95, Knicks 86
TORONTO – Vince Carter scored 28 points as the Toronto Raptors beat New York 95-86 Sunday, hurting the Knicks’ slim playoff hopes.
Allan Houston had 24 points for the Knicks, who have lost three straight and four of five. Latrell Sprewell scored just four points and was benched for the entire fourth quarter.
Pistons 99, Kings 88
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – The Detroit Pistons dominated when it mattered most, closing the game with a 15-1 run to defeat the Sacramento Kings 99-88 Sunday.
Cliff Robinson scored 21 points and Corliss Williamson had 15 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter for the Pistons, who trailed by 21 midway through the second quarter and by 10 after three quarters.
Detroit outscored Sacramento 14-3 to open the fourth quarter and take a 81-80 lead – its first since the opening minutes – with 7:32 left. The Kings went ahead 87-84 on Peja Stojakovic’s layup with 5:08 left, but then scored only one point the rest of the way.
Mavericks 119, T-wolves 95
MINNEAPOLIS – Dirk Nowitzki scored 33 points in 34 minutes as the Dallas Mavericks beat the lethargic Minnesota Timberwolves 119-95 Sunday afternoon.
Steve Nash had a season-high 15 assists to go with 14 points in three quarters, and reserve Nick Van Exel contributed 19 points and nine assists for the Mavericks, who led 100-71 after the third period.
Spurs 92, Hornets 90
NEW ORLEANS – Tim Duncan had 33 points and 12 rebounds, including a clinching 3-pointer in the final minute, as the San Antonio Spurs won their fifth straight with a 92-90 victory over the New Orleans Hornets on Sunday night.
Duncan’s late 3, which came quickly off an inbounds play, gave San Antonio a 91-86 lead after P.J. Brown missed a shot he normally makes – an open 14-foot jumper – that could have tied the game.
Duncan set up the shot – his sixth 3-pointer of the season – by diving after a loose ball and calling timeout just before being tied up by Baron Davis.
New Orleans had the momentum up to that point, having erased an 84-75 deficit with an 11-2 run to tie the game at 86 with 2:15 left.
Malik Rose scored 12 points off the bench for San Antonio, including seven straight points in the fourth quarter – five of them on free throws – as San Antonio took a nine-point lead, its largest of the game, with 5:55 left.
Stephen Jackson had 12 points and nine rebounds, while Tony Parker had 11 points and seven assists.
San Antonio remained two games behind Midwest Division-leading Dallas, while New Orleans fell 21/2 games behind Indiana for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.
Jamal Mashburn led New Orleans with 24 points, while Davis added 18, Jamaal Magloire 14 and Brown 13.
Mashburn hit a 3-pointer, a finger roll off a spinning drive and a tough shot high off the glass as the Hornets rallied to tie the game. Davis converted a behind-the-back dribble on a spin move through the lane for a layup during New Orleans’ final push.
San Antonio was able to push its lead as high as seven in the third quarter after New Orleans scored on only two of its first 11 possessions.
Duncan made the score 60-53 when he hit a short bank shot as he was fouled and converted the free throw. With New Orleans later looking to cut the lead to three, Duncan stuffed Mashburn inside, forcing a jump ball, which Duncan won before following his own miss with a dunk on the other end, making the score 64-57.
New Orleans’ bench was able to help tighten the game, however. Kenny Anderson started a 6-0 run when Courtney Alexander found him on a baseline cut. Anderson then made a pair of free throws before Robert Traylor backed into the lane and hit a short turnaround, cutting the Spurs’ lead to 66-65 heading into the fourth quarter.
Both teams shot better than 50 percent in the first half as the lead changed hands 19 times, with neither team leading by more than four points.
Notes: Hornets guard David Wesley, the team’s second-leading scorer, missed his sixth straight game with a bruised left foot. Wesley had missed just 16 games in his previous five seasons. New Orleans is 3-3 without Wesley. … Duncan’s scoring and rebounding totals gave him 53 double-doubles. He has 27 double-doubles in his last 31 games. … San Antonio went 6-0 on the road in March and has won 16 of 19 games overall.
AP-ES-03-30-03 2146EST
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