Final

Series (Game 2 of 2)

Series starts 11/29

Game 1: Tuesday, November 29th
Pacers84Final
Jazz60
Game 2: Friday, December 16th
Jazz83Final
Pacers93

Jazz 83

(10-13, 5-5 away)

Pacers 93

(13-8, 8-3 home)

Coverage: FxMW

7:00 PM ET, December 16, 2005

Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN

1 2 3 4 T
UTAH 18 19 25 2183
IND 19 19 23 3293

Top Performers

Utah: M. Okur 19 Pts, 12 Reb, 4 Ast, 1 Blk

Indiana: J. O'Neal 27 Pts, 11 Reb, 2 Ast, 5 Blk

O'Neal scores 27, Pacers get first win since Artest's demand

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- The Indiana Pacers didn't need Ron Artest's defense in the fourth quarter against Utah.

The Pacers held the Jazz to 4-for-19 shooting in the final period en route to a 93-83 victory Friday night.

It was the Pacers' first win since management said it would look to honor Artest's public request to be traded. Artest had averaged 19 points per game and led the league in steals before Indiana deactivated him. The Pacers made up for his absence with hustle and sound fundamentals.

"We got the loose balls in the second half that we didn't get in the first half," Indiana forward Austin Croshere said. "Those are the things we have to do. When you have to make up for a guy who scores 19, 20 points, you have to execute better. You have to do the little things."

Jermaine O'Neal had 27 points and 11 rebounds, and Croshere and Stephen Jackson each added 16 points for the Pacers.

Croshere was 4-of-5 on 3-pointers. He said point guards Jamaal Tinsley and Anthony Johnson controlled the pace of the game.

"Jamaal and A.J. did a great job of penetrating and kicking, I got some open looks, spread the floor and opened things up for Jermaine," Croshere said.

Indiana bounced back from Wednesday's 85-71 loss at Boston, its worst offensive showing of the season. O'Neal shot 5-for-19 against the Celtics, but went 10-for-19 against the Jazz.

Mehmet Okur led Utah with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Andrei Kirilenko added 11 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds for the Jazz.

Utah had won two in a row, including a surprising victory over Detroit on Monday.

The Jazz led Indiana 62-61 at the end of the third quarter, but the Pacers opened the fourth quarter on a 13-2 run, highlighted by 3-pointers from Johnson and Croshere.

"This was a winnable ball game on our part," Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. "If you don't play hard, you get run over like a steamroller. You have to be very disciplined to play them and beat them."

The Pacers made 28 of 33 free throws while Utah was 19-of-30. Kirilenko made 3-of-8 and Jarron Collins 3-of-6.

"That's not any good," Utah's Deron Williams said. "You have to get those points, those are freebies right there."

Indiana missed its first eight shots to open the game. The Pacers had 12 turnovers in the first half, but O'Neal scored 14 points to help Indiana take a 38-37 lead into the break.

Williams scored 10 points in the third quarter. The Jazz made eight consecutive shots during one stretch and led by as many as five points in the period.

Williams scored 14 points, Collins 13 and Matt Harpring 12 for the Jazz.

The Pacers improved to 3-2 in games Artest has missed this season. The Pacers say they are going to be fine without him.

"He's not here," Jackson said. "We're not worrying about where he's going ... We've got a job to do. I think we're worrying about these 12, 15 guys coming out and playing together trying to gain some kind of relationship on and off the court so we can get this thing done the right way."

Game notes


Utah was called for defensive three seconds three times. ... Utah's Robert Whaley missed the game with a hand laceration. Whaley cut his hand on glass the same night he was involved in a bar fight. He later told the Jazz he cut his hand while taking a sharp kitchen knife away from his 2-year-old son, and is facing disciplinary action for lying to the team. ... Tinsley started after missing the last five games with a strained left quad.

Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press

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Team Stat Comparison

 
UTAH
IND
Points 83 93
FGM-FGA 32-75 (.427) 28-68 (.412)
3PM-3PA 0-9 (.000) 9-22 (.409)
FTM-FTA 19-30 (.633) 28-33 (.848)
Rebounds (Offensive-Total) 13-40 10-37
Assists 24 20
Turnovers 15 19
Steals 10 5
Blocks 3 10
Fast Break Points 17 8
Fouls (Tech/Flagrant) 29 (3/0) 25 (1/0)
Largest Lead 6 14

Top Performers

Utah
Indiana
Mehmet Okur Okur
Points: 19
Reb: 12
Ast: 4
Stl: 0
Blk: 1
Jermaine O'Neal O'Neal
Points: 27
Reb: 11
Ast: 2
Stl: 0
Blk: 5