NBA ROUNDUP : Miller Propels Pacers Past Celtics Again

Don’t hold your breath waiting for the Indiana Pacers to fold. They probably are better than you think.

Former UCLA star Reggie Miller scored 19 of his 30 points in the second half Friday night and Indiana rallied for a 118-111 victory over the Boston Celtics at the Boston Garden.

It was the Celtics’ first home loss after six victories.

The Pacers improved to 6-3 with their second victory of the season over the Celtics and moved into first place in the Central Division. When the Pacers won their sixth game last season, they had already lost 23.

The 6-23 Pacers of 1988 fired George Irvine and brought in Dick Versace, an assistant coach with the Detroit Pistons. There was some improvement, if not great success, right away.

After learning that injuries would prevent 7-foot center Steve Stipanovich from playing again, Versace went about building a team. It went largely unnoticed when the Pacers were 11-8 in their final 19 games last season.

The pet project for Versace is the development of Miller. The 6-7 guard always could shoot with the best, but the rest of his game was suspect.

Nobody paid any attention when Versace said in training camp said that the NBA was going to see an improved Miller.

“I’ve never had a player improve so dramatically,” Versace said.

“When I came here, Reggie had a kind of foolish game. He took all those long three-point shots at the wrong time, trying to make hero shots.

“He has worked as hard as anyone to improve his game. He is one of our keys.

“We are basically a new team after the trades last season that brought in Detlef Schrempf, LaSalle Thompson and Randy Wittman. And it’s a new Reggie Miller.”

Miller, the Pacers’ leading scorer with a 24-point average, was seven for 13 from the field, including two for two on three-pointers. He had seven rebounds and five assists.

The Celtics’ Larry Bird missed 10 consecutive shots in the second quarter.

Phoenix 121, Orlando 94--The Magic had to go to Phoenix to face a team that had lost two in a row.

In the absence of injured Kevin Johnson, Jeff Hornacek took over as playmaker for the Suns. They built a 58-37 halftime advantage, then increased it to 102-58 after three quarters. Hornacek had 22 points, 15 assists and 12 rebounds.

Denver 122, Seattle 109--In winning their fourth in a row, the Nuggets forced 23 turnovers and turned them into 35 points at Denver.

Fat Lever scored 20 of his 24 points in the second half for the Nuggets.

It also was the Nuggets’ ninth consecutive victory at home over Seattle, which hasn’t won in McNichols Arena since Nov. 30, 1985.

Detroit 101, Cleveland 82--Isiah Thomas set a club record with 11 assists in the first quarter as the Pistons won easily at Auburn Hills, Mich.

Although the Cavaliers are missing their two outstanding big men, Larry Nance and Brad Daugherty, because of injuries, they had won five in a row since guard Mark Price came off the disabled list.

The Cavaliers made six turnovers in the first quarter and the Pistons built a 35-25 lead. They soon extended it to 20 points.

Thomas finished with 16 assists. Teammate Joe Dumars had 19 of his 31 points in the first half.

Portland 125, New Jersey 99--Clyde Drexler scored six of his 28 points as the Trail Blazers opened the second half with an 18-2 run at Portland.

It was the Trail Blazers’ fourth consecutive victory; the Nets have lost six in a row.

Philadelphia 121, Washington 108--The Bullets built a 17-point lead in the second quarter at Philadelphia, but Charles Barkley and Hersey Hawkins brought the 76ers back.

Barkley had 32 points and 15 rebounds and Hawkins scored 14 of his 24 points in the third quarter as the 76ers built a 36-14 margin.

Houston 85, Charlotte 81--The Rockets’ Akeem Olajuwon scored 21 points in the first half at Charlotte.

Atlanta 103, Miami 87--The Hawks’ Dominique Wilkins scored 15 of his 35 points in the first quarter at Miami.

Dallas 99, Minnesota 89--Former Laker Tony Campbell scored 24 points at Dallas, but he couldn’t prevent the expansion Timberwolves from becoming the league’s first 10-game loser.

Rolando Blackman had 23 points for the Mavericks.