Jackson Finds Range to Bury Trail Blazers

When Portland left Mark Jackson all alone in overtime, he made the Trail Blazers pay.

The Indiana guard made three three-point baskets in the extra session Thursday night to spark the Pacers to a 127-119 victory at Indianapolis.

“The guys caused my man to rotate. I got some good looks. I got into a rhythm. I was stepping into them and knocking them down,” said Jackson, who scored 10 of his season-high 23 points in overtime as the Pacers stretched their franchise-record home winning streak to 25 games.

Indiana had a chance to win in regulation, getting the ball inside to Rik Smits. But he was triple-teamed and tied up with fourth-tenths of a second to play.

Smits, who had sat out all but the final 12.2 seconds of the fourth quarter, made up for the miss in overtime, scoring six quick points to give Indiana a 115-108 lead with 2:29 left. He finished with 22 points, one of six Pacers to finish in double figures as they overcame a career-high 29-point effort by Portland reserve Bonzi Wells.

Wells played a career-high 34 minutes, topping his previous high by eight minutes. He also had a career-high 11 field goals in 18 shots.

Reggie Miller and Chris Mullin, who made his first start with Jalen Rose out because of stomach flu, each scored 17 for Indiana. Dale Davis contributed 12 points and 13 rebounds.

Utah 101, Houston 82--John Stockton and Howard Eisley scored 17 points each and Karl Malone and Bryon Russell each had 16 as the hot-shooting Jazz defeated the Rockets at Salt Lake City.

Utah shot 56.9% (41-of-72) to win its sixth in a row. The Jazz pulled away from a 46-44 halftime lead, getting a fourth-quarter boost from the bench, to win for the 11th time in 13 games since the All-Star break.

Minnesota 100, Dallas 79--Kevin Garnett had 22 points and 13 rebounds as the Timberwolves routed the Mavericks at Dallas.

Terrell Brandon had 17 points, Wally Szczerbiak scored 16 and Joe Smith added 14 as Minnesota won for the eighth time in 10 games.

San Antonio 105, Atlanta 79--Tim Duncan had 13 points in 30 minutes and David Robinson added 12 points, nine rebounds, four blocked shots and three steals in 23 minutes as the Spurs surged to 63-33 halftime lead at Atlanta.

Around the league

Dallas Mavericks Coach-General Manager Don Nelson and owner-to-be Mark Cuban say flamboyant forward Dennis Rodman was released Wednesday because the team was no longer in playoff contention. The rebellious Rodman had a different point of view. In his first comments since being dropped by the only team willing to put up with his antics, Rodman criticized the league, the Mavericks organization and Cuban in an expletive-filled tirade Thursday. “If it’s not a personal thing, then it’s the NBA, saying if you don’t get rid of Dennis Rodman, then you’re not going to be an owner,” Rodman told Fox Sports News. “I think it’s an injustice because I’m me, Dennis Rodman. I haven’t done anything wrong. I thought I was doing a good job. I thought I lived up to my expectations. I don’t get it. I really don’t get it. I get the short end of the stick every . . . time. What am I doing wrong?” . . . The Detroit Pistons waived forward-center Don Reid, who has been on the injured list since Feb. 25 because of back spasms. . . . Dennis Haslam, acting general manager of the Utah Jazz since December, was promoted to team president.