Pacers Make Loud Statement, Take 3-0 Series Lead on 76ers

As far as Reggie Miller and the Indiana Pacers are concerned, the louder the better.

Already poised and playoff-tested, the Pacers are even more so when transported to a building filled with screaming people who despise them.

Miller, one of the best pressure performers of his generation, scored 29 points as the unshakable Pacers moved one game away from sweeping the Philadelphia 76ers with a 97-86 victory in the Eastern Conference semifinals Friday night.

Miller, who thrived once again on taunts from the crowd and bounced right up from a couple of hard fouls, buried the 76ers with a three-point shot that gave Indiana a 93-77 lead with 3:11 left after Philadelphia got within four points.

“It’s beautiful, I love it,” Miller said of the fans who spitefully chanted his name early in the game. “I can’t play at home. I play much better on the road.”

The Pacers, who survived late runs by the 76ers in Games 1 and 2, did the same for the final three quarters of Game 3. This time, they never gave up the lead and can sweep Philadelphia with a victory in Game 4 on Sunday.

Allen Iverson led the 76ers with 32 points, but took 33 shots. After he cut Indiana’s lead to 77-73 on a three-point play with 9:38 left, the Pacers picked apart Philadelphia with a 16-4 run that gave them their biggest lead, 16 points.

Jackson started the run with a three-point shot, Jalen Rose added a jump shot, Jackson backed in for an easy basket, Dale Davis dunked and Miller made a three-point shot--all while the 76ers went 5:30 without a field goal.

“I got caught up in the game and I tried to do too much,” said Iverson, who flipped the ball disgustedly after stepping out of bounds in the final minutes.

Iverson was 13 for 33 from the field. The playoff record for field-goal attempts is 48 by Wilt Chamberlain and Rick Barry.

Matt Geiger, Philadelphia’s starting center at 7-foot-1, had 11 points but did not have a rebound in 27 minutes.

As a result, Indiana is one win away from their fourth trip to the conference finals in five years. The 76ers face the task of coming back from a 3-0 deficit, which no team has done in a seven-game playoff series.

“We might as well be first,” 76er Coach Larry Brown said with little conviction. “I didn’t like them hanging their heads at the end. We’ve done a lot of good things in this building. I just hope we have a chance to bounce back and extend them.”

Miller, decked by Geiger and then Tyrone Hill, said, “I’d be surprised if we come close to sweeping them. I’m sure Coach will give them a Knute Rockne speech.”

Indiana lulled the 76ers to the brink of elimination with balanced scoring. Chris Mullin had 15 points--10 in the third quarter--and Mark Jackson had 11 points and 10 assists.

The Pacers ended a 76er 10-game home winning streak dating to the regular season, apparently oblivious to what longtime court-side observers said was the 76ers’ loudest crowd in at least 30 years.

“This doesn’t bother us,” Jackson said. “It’s not like we haven’t been in these situations before.”

Of the crowd’s effect on Miller, Bird said, “It gets him going.”