Pacers Bounce Back to End 2-Game Slide

Jalen Rose matched his career high with 32 points, Reggie Miller scored 28 and the Indiana Pacers ended a two-game losing streak Wednesday night with a 113-107 victory over the struggling Atlanta Hawks at Atlanta.

In their previous trip to Atlanta this season, the Pacers outscored the Hawks, 40-10, in the third quarter of a 116-89 victory. This time, they put together a 15-3 run to begin the second half after scoring the final 10 points of the second quarter.

“We were trying to be aggressive,” said Rose, who equaled his career high set Feb. 16 against the Toronto Raptors. “When you lose two in a row, you have to try to get back on track.”

The Pacers increased their lead in the Eastern Conference to three games over the idle Miami Heat and pushed six games ahead of the Raptors, who also were off, in the Central Division.

“The last time we played here, we had our best third quarter of the season,” Rose said. “We were trying to resemble that.”

The Pacers, who are only 16-18 on the road, rebounded from a dismal 111-90 loss to the Dallas Mavericks the previous night at Dallas.

“We understood the sense of urgency,” guard Mark Jackson said. “We didn’t want to compound last night’s loss.”

Detroit 113, Orlando 91--Jerry Stackhouse scored 32 points and Christian Laettner had 22 points and a season-high 17 rebounds for the Pistons at Auburn Hills, Mich.

The Pistons solidified their hold on seventh place in the Eastern Conference to two games over Orlando as they looked forward to Friday night’s game against the Lakers.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Grant Hill said. “The Palace should be rocking, and we’ll get a lot of energy from the fans. It’s going to be a challenge--the Lakers are a great team, and they haven’t lost in what seems like forever.”

Charlotte 77, Chicago 74--Eddie Jones and David Wesley each scored 18 points and the Hornets overcame 23% shooting in the fourth quarter at Charlotte, N.C.

Elden Campbell added a career-high 20 rebounds and Derrick Coleman had 15 points for the Hornets, who built a 12-point lead before missing 10 of 13 shots attempts in the final quarter.

Boston 121, Golden State 104--Antoine Walker scored 25 points and Paul Pierce added 19 at Boston as the Celtics kept their playoff hopes alive by sending the Warriors to their eighth consecutive loss.

Boston, which has won five of six, is 2 1/2 games behind Orlando for the final playoff spot in the East.

The Celtics led by two points at halftime, then outscored the Warriors, 41-24, in the third quarter. Reserve guard Doug Overton had nine points in the quarter while Walker had eight.

Around the League

Center Jayson Williams of the New Jersey Nets suffered a broken toe during practice, apparently ending his bid to return this season from a broken leg and knee injury. The former all-star, who injured his leg in April, resumed practicing last week. He had hoped to make his comeback Saturday against the Milwaukee Bucks. . . . The Philadelphia 76ers signed guard Ira Bowman for the remainder of the season. . . . The Chicago Bulls activated forward Ron Artest and guard B.J. Armstrong from the injured list.