Bird, Pacers Beat Celtics Yet Again

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

March 9, 1998 / 12:00 AM EST / CBS Sportsline

Twenty-five points by Reggie Miller can be expected. But it was a season-high 22 by Dale Davis that helped the Indiana Pacers beat the Boston Celtics 104-100 Sunday.

Â"He played great at both ends of the floor, blocking shots (4) as well as putting the ball in the basket,Â" Miller said of his teammate, who made a season-high 10 field goals and hit two crucial free throws in the final seconds despite going into the game with a 44 percent mark from the line.

Davis has scored in double figures in 10 of his last 11 games, raising his average to 7.8.

Â"I'm making myself a little more visable, especially when the guys have the ball on the wing, I'm posting a little harder,Â" Davis said. Â"A lot of times I'm playing against guys I have a couple of inches over. If I have to play them on the other end, they should have to play me also.Â"

The threat of Davis underneath adds another dimension to an Indiana offense that features Miller, Rik Smits andChris Mullin.

Â"Anytime you get more scoring from another outlet other than Chris, Rik or myself, it's a bonus,Â" Miller said. Â"Him putting in 20 points, that can kill a team.Â"

The Pacers, who have beaten Boston in all three meetings this season, tied the score for the final time at 88 on a 3-pointer by Fred Hoiberg with 8:09 to play.

Derrick McKey's layup on the next possession put the Pacers ahead 90-88 with 7:19 left. Antonio Davis then scored four consecutive points, capping a nine-point run with 6:21 remaining.

The Celtics cut the deficit to one point twice in the closing minutes, the last at 100-99 on a driving layup by Kenny Anderson with 1:04 to go. Smits then hit two free throws with 48.9 seconds remaining and Dale Davis made two more with 10.1 seconds left, making it 104-99.

Â"We just couldn't stop them. We didn't play good defense when we needed to,Â" said Anderson, who led the Celtics with 17 points and 12 assists.

Â"With their personnel, HOW deep they go, we needed to make stops and we didn't.Â"

Ron Mercer scored 16 for Boston and Antoine Walker had 15. All five Indiana starters finihed in double figures, with Mark Jackson contributing 11 points and 11 assists.

Â"This is the deepest team in the NBA,Â" said Boston coach Rick Pitino, who saw the Celtics fall behind by 13 points in the opening quarter before rallying to lead 53-51 at halftime.

Indiana shot 74 percent (14-of-19) in the first quarter and led 29-16 with 38 seconds left in the period. Dale Davis made his first six shots for the Pacers.

A 3-pointer by Dana Barros left Boston trailing 29-21 after one period. After Boston cut the deficit to 43-42, Smits scored six straight for the Pacers on a dunk, a hook shot and two free throws. The Celtics then took their first lead at 51-49 with nine straight points.

Mercer had five points during the run and seven in the quarter when Boston hit 13-of-18 shots.

NOTES: The Pacers went into the game as the NBA's second stingiest defense, having allowed an average of 88.8 points per game. ... Boston, the only team in the league averaging more than 20 turnovers per game, had 19. ... Smits and Dale Davis will soon be 1-2 on Indiana's all-time rebounding list. Smits moved past Herb Williams into the top spot Tuesday and has 4,510. Davis needs four more to catch Williams. ... Boston's bench outscored Indiana 35-20, with Travis Knight having 12 for the Celtics. ... Indiana is 19-0 in games when it scores 100 points and 19-2 when shooting over 50 percent from the field.