Ali Visit Inspires Pacers

Muhammad Ali was the Indiana Pacers' sixth man Friday night.

The former heavyweight champion's pregame visit to the Pacers' lockerroom inspired them to beat Utah 89-74 and snap the Jazz's seven-game winning streak.

"What an emotional boost!," exclaimed Pacers guard Reggie Miller. "We had to win in front of `The Greatest."

He and Sam Perkins, who finished with 15 points, fueled an 18-4 run to stretch a four-point lead to 87-71 with two minutes left in the game. Perkins hit two of his five 3-pointers in the run and Miller scored on a fast-break layup and a baseline drive.

The capacity crowd at Conseco Fieldhouse greeted Ali with a standing ovation after he was introduced as the century's greatest athlete, a title recently given him by "Sports Illustrated." A long line of fans came to meet him at halftime, but only a few got close enough for handshakes and autographs before security people shooed the rest away.

Ali accompanied his 8-year-old son, Asaad, and his son's basketball and baseball teammates from Howard Elementary in Niles, Mich., to the game.

"It was a great lift," said Perkins, who was 5-of-8 on 3-pointers. "Having him there was phenomenal."

Perkins attributed his shooting to "great substitution, calling me at the right time. If (coach Larry Bird) calls me a minute sooner or a minute later, I might not have hit anything."

Both teams shot poorly in the first half. The Pacers, who led 34-30 at halftime, went 30-of-75 (38.5 percent) from the field for the game, to 36.3 percent (29-of-80) for the Jazz.

Karl Malone scored 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for Utah, while Jeff Hornacek added 15 points.

"It was a gret defensive game," Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. "You have to give credit to both teams' defense. We must attribute this loss to their defense."

Rik Smits and Austin Croshere recorded double-doubles for Indiana. Smits scored 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds; Croshere had 10 points and 11 rebounds.

The Pacers were the last team to beat the Jazz before their streak, winning 100-75 at Utah on Dec. 3.

Utah is 3-1 on its seven-game road trip. The Pacers have won six straight at home and eight of their last nine.

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