Pacers Comeback To Beat Bucks

March 22, 1998 / 8:54 PM EST / AP

"I was thinking that my team would come out and put them away early," Bird said after Reggie Miller scored 32 points and Rik Smits converted a key three-point play in overtime to lead the Pacers to a 96-94 victory over the reeling Milwaukee Bucks.

"They didn't do that. It's a little frustrating, but we won the game."

The Bucks, who lost their ninth straight and 12th of the last 13, played without leading-scorer Glenn Robinson (leg bone bruise), Terrell Brandon (sprained ankle) and Tyrone Hill (strained back).

Ray Allen led Milwaukee with 25 points and Michael Curry added a career-high 21 as the Bucks played hard and held a 10-point lead early in the third.

The Pacers, who shot 43 percent from the floor on 34-for-79 shooting, came off a stretch of playing five games in eight days, which Bird said could have contributed to the sluggish performance.

"I think they were a little fatigued," he said. ``That might have had something to do with it, but they just didn't play."

Mark Jackson added 16 and seven assists and Smits had 16 points and seven rebounds and as Indiana maintained its hold on the second-best record in the Eastern Conference. Indiana, which tied the game three times but never led in regulation, won its third straight and ninth in the last 12.

The Pacers finally caught the Bucks in regulation when Miller, who had 19 points in the second half, hit one of two free throws to tie the game at 79 with 44.3 seconds left.

Ervin Johnson grabbed Miller's miss to give the Bucks a last-second chance to snap their longest losing streak of the season. But Allen's game-winning shot missed.

Jackson hit a 3-pointer to open the overtime period, but Milwaukee refused to let Indiana pull away.

Johnson, who had 18 rebounds, scored on a hook shot for Milwaukee's only lead at 87-86 with 1:55 to play, but Jackson converted a three-point play to put Indiana ahead until Elliot Perry hit a jumper to tie the game at 89 with 33.2 seconds left.

The Pacers went ahead for good on Smits' three-point play.

After a timeout, Chris Mullin inbounded the ball to Jackson, who backed down on Allen and then hit Smits with a perfect pass as the Pacers center cut to the basket. Smits split the defenders and dunked to make it 91-89. He was fouled by Armon Gilliam and made the free throw for a 92-89 lead.

"It's up to me to basically make a play out of it," Jackson said after the Pacers called a timeout to set up the decisive play. "Back a guy in and read the defense. Rik did a great job of getting behind Johnson and finishing."

The Bucks turned the ball over as Jerald Honeycutt couldn't handle Curry's inbound pass. The Bucks immediately fouled Miller, who made two free throws.

Allen answered with a 3-pointer and then the Bucks fouled Jalen Rose, but he made two free throws before Curry made two for the Bucks' final points.

"We pretty much have to play perfect," Allen said. ``We're not playig perfect, but we're playing hard, expecting to win and leaving it all on the court."

Notes: Miller had 10 of Indiana's 17 points in the first quarter. ... Johnson had eight rebounds in the first, one more than Indiana had as a team. ... Forward Tyrone Hill missed his fourth straight game for Milwaukee with a strained back . He is day-to-day. ... Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Oscar Robertson and Sidney Moncrief topped the list of 15 current and former Bucks players voted by fans to the club's 30th Anniversary Ultimate Team contest. ... With the victory Sunday, first-year coach Larry Bird has guided the Pacers to a fifth straight winning month. ... All five Milwaukee starters scored in double figures.

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