Miller Reaches Milestones in Victory

Reggie Miller still has his shooting touch and was as dangerous as ever Sunday.

Miller scored 24 points, including four three-pointers, and became the first NBA player to accumulate 2,000 three-pointers in leading the Indiana Pacers to a 101-95 come-from-behind victory over the Sacramento Kings at Indianapolis.

“He’s so unbelievable and he’s so marvelous at what he does and he’s been doing it for so long, you almost take it for granted,” Indiana Coach Isiah Thomas said. “There have been a lot of great players, a lot of great shooters in this league and nobody has accomplished what he just did.”

Miller’s 2,000th career three-pointer came 4:48 into the third quarter, only 55 seconds after a 20-foot jumper made him the 21st player in NBA history to score 21,000 points.

But Miller didn’t even hesitate when the crowd gave him a standing ovation.

He rushed in for one of his eight rebounds on the Pacers’ next possession, then tried to draw a charge on the defensive end.

It was vintage Miller--looking for his shot, being aggressive, taking charge against one of the NBA’s best teams.

“At that point in time, we were making a comeback to get into the game,” Miller said. “It gave us life out there.”

This time, Miller also had a strong supporting cast. Al Harrington scored 17 points and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds. Jermaine O’Neal had 12 points and 15 rebounds. Reserve Austin Croshere scored 17 points and Travis Best added 14.

Miller also played a prominent role as the Pacers shut out Sacramento for 4:32 in the fourth quarter, which allowed Indiana to take control of the game and drop the Pacific Division-leading Kings into second place, a half-game behind the Lakers.

“I don’t think we’ve played very well either game,” Sacramento Coach Rick Adelman said, referring to the Kings’ two losses to Indiana. “They have taken it to us for whatever reason. Their guys played well today, Harrington and O’Neal and Croshere and Reggie. Reggie got it going.”

Behind Predrag Stojakovic’s 27 points, and Chris Webber, who had 26 points and 15 rebounds, the Kings twice closed within three but never had a chance to win.

Minnesota 91, Cleveland 76--Kevin Garnett had 21 points, nine rebounds and nine assists as the Timberwolves overcame a sluggish start to beat the Cavaliers at Minneapolis.

The Timberwolves also got 17 points from Terrell Brandon, and 13 points and 12 rebounds from reserve LaPhonso Ellis.

Minnesota, which missed all six of its three-point shots in the first half and trailed by as many as eight points, made all four of its three-pointers in the third quarter and outscored the Cavaliers, 30-14.

Seattle 104, Golden State 99--Ruben Patterson scored six of his 20 points in the final minutes as the SuperSonics held off the lowly Warriors for their fifth consecutive victory.

The Sonics kept their playoff hopes alive with their fifth win in eight days, but the undermanned Warriors gave them a challenge before losing their 10th in a row.

Golden State led, 95-93, with 2 1/2 minutes to play, but Patterson made a jumper and converted a three-point play. After two Golden State misses, Gary Payton made a running layup with 30 seconds left, then stole the Warriors’ inbounds pass to seal the win.

Milwaukee 100, Detroit 96--Glenn Robinson scored 24 points and Sam Cassell added 21 as the Bucks capitalized on a poor fourth quarter by Jerry Stackhouse and defeated the Pistons at Auburn Hills, Mich.

Stackhouse scored 16 points, 14 below his average, and missed all nine of his field-goal attempts in the fourth quarter. He also missed two free throws.

Denver 98, New Jersey 84--Raef LaFrentz had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Antonio McDyess added 19 points and the Nuggets used a 23-0 second-quarter run to defeat the Nets at Denver.