Pacers and Miller Apply Clincher

Reggie Miller took his frustration out on the Philadelphia 76ers.

Miller, returning from a one-game suspension, scored 25 points to lead the Indiana Pacers to a series-ending 106-90 victory over the 76ers in Game 6 on Friday night.

“The playoffs is when I’m at my best,” said Miller, suspended for an altercation with 76er center Matt Geiger in Game 4. “To not be a part of that [in Game 5], especially when your team is up 3-1, it kept bothering me all week. The more upset I got, the more I wanted to do something about it.”

Philadelphia was trying to become the first NBA team to win a best-of-seven series after falling behind, 3-0.

Indiana advanced to the Eastern Conference finals for the third consecutive season and the fifth time in seven years, but is still seeking its first trip to the NBA finals.

Jalen Rose added 21 points for Pacers.

Miller took over in the third quarter. He capped an 8-1 run by converting a backdoor alley-oop for his first basket since the first quarter and a 74-63 lead.

Miller then made a jump shot and a three-point basket to make it 83-69 with 31 seconds left.

Travis Best made two free throws as Indiana took its biggest lead to that point, 85-69, after three quarters.

After the 76ers cut it to 90-79 midway through the fourth, Miller secured the victory with another three-point basket to make it 93-79. He turned and stared at the 76ers’ bench after the shot.

“I didn’t say anything,” Miller said. “Looks say a thousand words.”

Philadelphia didn’t get any closer than 14 the rest of the game.

“I told Mark [Jackson] after Game 5 that I was going to shoot as much as possible,” Miller said. “Sometimes, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.”

The game was stopped for about three minutes with 2:36 left after a fan threw a bottle of water on the court.

Things didn’t get as ugly as Game 3 when several fans threw debris on the court, including a full can of beer that nearly hit Philadelphia’s George Lynch.

“The fans need to check themselves,” Miller said.

Asked what he thought about the fans’ derisive chants the entire series, Miller said, “I thought they were saying, ‘Reggie rocks.’ ”

Aaron McKie led the 76ers with 19 points, and Allen Iverson had 18. Rik Smits added 18 for Indiana and Jackson had 12 points and 11 assists.

“We really moved the ball extremely well, especially in the beginning,” Indiana Coach Larry Bird said. “We turned it over early, but I wasn’t concerned. We were setting the tempo.”

Phildelphia’s Eric Snow, who sat out the last three games because of a chip fracture in his right ankle, played six minutes.