It Takes a While, but Pacers Prevail

Indiana’s Jermaine O’Neal made the shot, the buzzer sounded and the celebration began.

Game over? Not so fast.

Officials reviewed the replay of O’Neal’s shot for about 15 minutes before ruling it was good, giving the Pacers an 88-86 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Saturday night at Indianapolis.

O’Neal, who finished with 17 points, knew what they would find.

“When it left my hand, I knew it was good,” O’Neal said.

The NBA added instant replay this year, permitting officials to review plays in the final few seconds of any quarter. Officials Joe DeRosa, Jess Kersey and Courtney Kirkland studied the replay, talked with the coaches and then headed to midcourt for more discussion before making their decision.

“It was a split-second situation. It looked to me like the ball was still in his hands,” Piston Coach Rick Carlisle said. “I disagree with the decision, but I respect the call.”

The Pacers inbounded the ball with 24.1 seconds left. Indiana’s Erick Strickland drove toward the basket, ran into defensive pressure and passed it out to O’Neal. He set himself, made the 19-footer and was quickly mobbed by his teammates. Television replays seemed to indicate the ball left O’Neal’s hands with four-tenths of a second left.

Miami 102, Chicago 101 -- Brian Grant’s layup with 7.6 seconds left in the second overtime gave the Heat a victory at Miami over the Bulls, who have lost 19 straight on the road. The Bulls had a chance to win at the buzzer, but Jalen Rose’s 22-foot jumper rolled off the rim.

Boston 97, Milwaukee 95 -- Antoine Walker scored 25 points and Paul Pierce made a key jumper with 35.9 seconds left at Milwaukee to lead the Celtics to their third straight victory. The Bucks trailed by 16 points with 11:32 left before going on an 11-0 run, but the rally fell short when they missed two late free throws.

Utah 95, Cleveland 78 -- Matt Harpring scored 22 points at Salt Lake City to lead the Jazz to its fourth straight victory. The Cavaliers haven’t won in Utah since 1989.

Philadelphia 88, Washington 80 -- Allen Iverson scored 26 points and the 76ers held off a late rally led by Michael Jordan to defeat the Wizards at Washington. Jordan scored 25 points on 10-for-25 shooting, and he had seven points and two assists among constant double teams in the last five minutes as the Wizards cut a 12-point deficit to two.

New York 95, Atlanta 92 -- Clarence Weatherspoon scored a season-high 18 off the bench and Allan Houston had 24 at Atlanta to lead the Knicks. Jason Terry missed a potential game-tying three-pointer with the clock winding down.

Minnesota 104, Portland 98 -- Kevin Garnett had 31 points and 20 rebounds and the Timberwolves used an 11-2 run early in the fourth quarter to take control at Portland, Ore.