Playing on the Road Suits Pacers Just Fine

The Indiana Pacers, who have the NBA’s best record, stayed unbeaten on the road, thanks to a last-second miss by rookie David West. Reggie Miller made two free throws with 8.4 seconds left to give them a 76-75 victory over the New Orleans Hornets Friday night in New Orleans.

The Hornets had one last chance with a second left after Jermaine O’Neal missed two free throws -- the second purposely in an effort to run out the clock. But West missed converting a backdoor alley-oop pass from Sean Rooks, shooting the ball too hard off the glass.

The Pacers, 5-0 on the road, have won four in a row to improve to 10-2. New Orleans is 9-4, the second-best record in the Eastern Conference.

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Philadelphia 87, Boston 85 -- Allen Iverson missed 14 of his first 18 shots, but finished with 24 points -- including two key free throws -- to lead the 76ers at Philadelphia.

Paul Pierce, who led all scorers with 33 points, scored eight straight points on a dunk and made two three-pointers as Boston tied it at 83-83 with 1:28 left. Aaron McKie scored to give the 76ers an 85-83 lead with 1:05 left, and the Celtics let the shot clock expire on their next possession.

After Iverson missed a layup, Walter McCarty missed a three-pointer with 9.5 seconds left. Iverson then made the two free throws.

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Denver 108, Washington 87 -- The Nuggets have won four of five and are off to their best start (7-5) since opening the 1989-90 season 8-4. They are 5-1 at home after needing until Jan. 8 to get their fifth home win last season.

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Minnesota 97, Cleveland 83 -- Latrell Sprewell scored a season-high 31 points, including a three-point basket with 5:47 left to give the Timberwolves a 15-point lead at Cleveland.

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Detroit 94, New York 85 -- The Knicks, playing without forward Keith Van Horn, who sat out his second game with a sprained right ankle, never led at Auburn Hills, Mich, and lost for the sixth time in seven games.

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San Antonio 114, Atlanta 75 -- Tim Duncan had 20 of the Spurs season-high 68 first-half points and finished with 25 at San Antonio. Duncan, who also had 10 rebounds, did not play in the fourth quarter.

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Utah 99, Milwaukee 90 -- Andrei Kirilenko scored 20 points and Raul Lopez scored a career-high 18 as the Jazz overcame injuries to Carlos Arroyo and DeShawn Stevenson at Salt Lake City. Arroyo and Stevenson left the court within 70 seconds of each other in the third quarter.

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Sacramento 122, Orlando 92 -- Brad Miller had his first career triple-double with 22 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists, helping the Kings extend the Magic’s losing streak to 12 games. The Kings extended their Arco Arena winning streak over Eastern Conference opponents to 22 games.

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Memphis 98, Seattle 97 -- Jason Williams’ three-point basket with 10.7 seconds left helped gave the Grizzlies a 97-94 lead at Seattle. Lorenzen Wright then made a free throw that made a difference when Vladimir Radmanovic made a three-point shot with 0.9 seconds left.

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Portland 85, Houston 78 -- Damon Stoudamire had 23 points and seven assists for the Trail Blazers, who improved to 7-1 at home. The loss was the first in three games for the Rockets, who were led by Yao Ming’s 21 points.

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Golden State 101, Miami 91 -- Jason Richardson scored 20 of his 29 points in the second half at Oakland to help the Warriors end a four-game losing streak.