Brown Gets Win No. 1,000 the Hard Way

It took a lot of venues and some Reggie Miller heroics to do it, but Indiana Pacer Coach Larry Brown has 1,000 victories.

The oft-traveled Brown was the beneficiary of Miller’s three-point shot at the buzzer Friday night in a 97-94 victory over the Boston Celtics at Indianapolis.

The record sums up this way:

--594-448 in the NBA.

--229-107 in the ABA.

--177-61 in college.

“I told my assistants to shoot me if it ever got to 1,000 losses,” Brown said. “I’m grateful. I never imagined I’d do this this long. I owe a lot of thanks to a lot of people, but don’t let me get to 1,000 losses, unless there’s 2,000 wins there.”

The Pacers overcame a seven-point deficit in the final quarter, winning when Miller took an inbounds pass from Vincent Askew with 1.2 seconds to go and immediately put up the shot. Miller scored 25 points, 15 in the fourth quarter.

“I told Vince after the timeout to look for me,” Miller said. “I think he saw I was wide open and he made a great pass. It felt like I was wide open. I got a great look. I couldn’t ask for a better shot.”

It was Boston’s 13th loss in 14 regular-season games at Market Square Arena.

Vancouver 95, Orlando 93--Rookie Shareef Abdur-Rahim made two free throws with 4.4 seconds left for a 95-91 lead in Vancouver, and the Grizzlies held on to win for the first time in 26 games against an Eastern Conference foe.

Orlando was playing without Penny Hardaway, who suffered leg problems and was going to Houston for treatment.

Abdur-Rahim scored 21 points for Vancouver, making all nine of his free throws for a team that won for only the fourth time this season.

Minnesota 108, Phoenix 105--Tom Gugliotta scored 25 points, his last two on a jump shot from the corner with 16 seconds to play for the Timberwolves, who rallied to win in Minneapolis and ended Phoenix’s five-game winning streak.

Gugliotta scored 12 points in the fourth quarter, including four during a closing 11-3 run for the Timberwolves. His final basket gave Minnesota a 103-102 lead, and the Timberwolves, who ended a six-game losing streak, made five free throws down the stretch.

Cleveland 101, Golden State 87--Bob Sura had 22 points and Tyrone Hill added 20 for the Cavaliers, who overcame early foul trouble for three starters.

Hill made four free throws at the end of the third quarter, when Cleveland erased a 68-60 deficit with an 8-0 run. He added a powerful dunk and three-point play during a 12-2 spurt that gave the Cavaliers a 90-81 lead with 4:13 to play.

Washington 108, Denver 104--Chris Webber had 25 points and 11 rebounds, and Jaren Jackson made a desperation three-point basket in the final minute for the Bullets, who won in Landover, Md., and handed Denver its ninth loss in a row.

Washington had the ball and a 102-101 lead as the 24-second clock ticked down. Jackson launched a 25-footer with one second left, and the ball swished through the net to give the Bullets a four-point cushion with 51 seconds left.

Charlotte 84, Philadelphia 75--Vlade Divac, apparently recovered from a bout with flu, scored 16 of his 20 points in the final 31 minutes for the Hornets at Charlotte.

The defense helped, limiting Philadelphia, which lost for the sixth time in a row and played without Allen Iverson, to 12 points in the final quarter.

Chicago 113, New Jersey 92--Michael Jordan scored 32 points and the Bulls, playing and winning their second game in a row without suspended Dennis Rodman, didn’t have to face the NBA’s leading rebounder in East Rutherford, N.J.

The Nets’ Jayson Williams, who leads the NBA with an average of 16.1 rebounds, didn’t play because of strained ligaments in his right thumb.