EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

* Season series--76ers, 2-1.

* Outlook--The Pacers are everybody’s pick. However, 76er Coach Larry Brown has a history of incredible postseason runs, such as his UCLA team that made the NCAA final with four freshmen, and his Kansas team that rose from just above .500 at midseason to win an NCAA title--and his Pacer teams that had never won a playoff series in the NBA before he took them to the Eastern finals two years running. Now Brown’s long-dormant 76ers seem to be peaking. They blew away the No. 3-seeded Magic in four games, defending tenaciously, with Allen Iverson looking wild and unstoppable as usual in his first postseason. The Pacers wore down the Bucks in the expected three games but Rik Smits’ feet hurt again and he had 22 points and 16 rebounds in the series.

* Prediction--76ers shock Larry Bird and the world in six.