Heat Unable to Cool Off Pacers

Reggie Miller scored 30 points and Indiana survived a late Miami rally to win, 110-101, Wednesday night at Miami.

The Pacers, leading the Central Division and the Eastern Conference, built a 22-point lead in the third quarter and won for the ninth time in 10 games.

“This was a big game for my guys,” Indiana Coach Larry Bird said. “They wanted this win badly.”

The Pacers avenged an 11-point loss to the Heat on Dec. 28 in Miami.

“Ever since then, we were looking at this game on our schedule,” Miller said. “They’re a team we’re definitely going to see down the road in the playoffs.”

Alonzo Mourning had 21 points and 15 rebounds before fouling out late in the game. Tim Hardaway drew a technical foul and Miami Coach Pat Riley said the Heat allowed themselves to become frustrated about calls against them.

“This was a big game against a quality team, and they handled it better than we did,” Riley said.

Chicago 92, Charlotte 90--Michael Jordan scored 29 points, including a spectacular reverse layup with 35.8 seconds left, to lead the Bulls at Charlotte, N.C.

Scottie Pippen had 23 points for the Bulls, who won the season series, 3-1.

The Hornets had a chance to win at the buzzer but Vernon Maxwell’s three-point shot banked off the glass and rim.

The Bulls led, 88-87, when Jordan drove the right baseline, jumped and avoided Anthony Mason in mid-air, flipped the ball underneath the hoop with his left hand and banked it in.

Glen Rice led Charlotte with 29 points.

Orlando 96, Minnesota 89--Neither Penny Hardaway’s latest injury nor reports that he was about to be traded seemed to bother the Magic at Minneapolis.

Watching from the bench because of a calf injury suffered Tuesday night, Hardaway said before the game he expected to be traded, possibly to the New Jersey Nets.

The speculation didn’t distract the Magic, with Nick Anderson scoring season-high 28 points, 20 in the second half.

Kevin Garnett, in his first game since starting in Sunday’s All-Star game, led the Timberwolves with a season-high 29 points.

Seattle 106, San Antonio 105--Vin Baker’s 14-foot fall-away jumper with 1.9 seconds left gave the SuperSonics the victory at San Antonio.

Baker led the Sonics with 24 points, but it was Sam Perkins who scored eight points in a row down the stretch and led Seattle from a 102-96 deficit to a 104-102 lead.

Tim Duncan and David Robinson led the Spurs with 26 and 20 points, respectively. But Robinson had the only two points of the fourth quarter for the all-star duo.

Detroit 95, Milwaukee 83--Joe Dumars made two of his four three-point shots down the stretch to help lead the Pistons at Auburn Hills, Mich.

Grant Hill led the Pistons with 21 points and Jerry Stackhouse added 16 off the bench. Glenn Robinson scored 26 and Ray Allen had 24 for the Bucks, who lost for the second night in a row.

Michael Curry, who left Detroit as a free agent, scored eight points for Milwaukee in the second quarter, helping the Bucks to a 46-44 halftime lead.

Philadelphia 91, Dallas 90--Allen Iverson made up for a turnover-filled three quarters with a 16-point fourth quarter and a game-winning three-point basket with 2.9 seconds left to give the 76ers the victory at Philadelphia.

Michael Finley made a jumper at the buzzer for the Mavericks, but the referees waved it off despite fierce protests by both Finley and Coach Don Nelson.

Iverson had 27 points, six assists and nine turnovers.

Dennis Scott led Dallas with 24 points and Finley had 17.

The Sixers battled back from a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to end a seven-game losing streak. The Mavericks lost their 22nd consecutive road game.