Pacers Hold Off T'Wolves 111-108

Anthony Peeler brought the Timberwolves back, then missed the biggest shot of all.

Peeler hit four 3-pointers in the closing minutes as Minnesota cut an 18-point fourth quarter lead down to two with 16.8 seconds remaining.

Peeler then missed a short jumper with 13 seconds to play that would have tied the game, and the Indiana Pacers beat the Timberwolves 111-108 behind a career-high 23 points and 11 rebounds from Antonio Davis.

"I was on a doughnut of the whole game. I thought I wasn't even going to score no points, I was so frustrated," said Peeler, who scored 12 of his 14 points in the final 3:17.

"My teammates told me to keep putting it up. My teammates gave me a lot of confidence in shooting," he said.

Minnesota, which trailed 96-78 with 8:10 to play, went on a 12-2 run behind six points from ex-Pacer Sam Mitchell, and trailed 98-90 with 5:17 left. Mitchell finished with 22 points.

It looked like Indiana would survive the surge when Reggie Miller hit a jumper and Derrick McKey followed a missed shot with a layup to give Indiana a 102-90 advantage. But Peeler and Terry Porter hit consecutive 3-pointers to make it 108-99.

Peeler's second 3-pointer followed a Mark Jackson turnover, and he followed that with a steal and his fourth 3-pointer to make it 110-108.

"Our defense quit getting out and contesting shots," said Pacers coach Larry Bird, whose team picked up its' 51st win, one short of tying a team record.

"We had things going our way, but then we gave up too many threes. We didn't play that well," said Bird, whose team allowed 38 points in the fourth quarter, a season-high.

It looked like Indiana would survive the comeback, until Jackson, a 77-percent free-throw shooter, missed two foul shots with 13 seconds to play to give Minnesota another chance with 12.2 seconds left.

Then came Peeler's miss, which was rebounded by Porter. Derrick McKey swatted the putback into the hands of Miller.

"Derrick does all the little subtle things out there," Bird said of McKey, who finished with six points, seven rebounds and one huge block.

Miller, who finished with 21 points, hit just one of two free throws, giving Minnesota a last possession with 3.3 seconds left. Kevin Garnett, who finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds, missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

"You can't come back against a team like this with a deficit that big on the road and win," Minnesota coach Flip Saunders said. "It takes too much energy."

Saunders said a game like this does help a team that's fighting for playoff positioning.

"We are really a fourth-quarter team," he said. "We made a run after a slow start and that's a good sign."

The Timberwolves ell behind 11-2 early as Davis scored seven of the Pacers' first nine points. He had 17 points in the first half as Indiana led 60-40.

"My shots were falling tonight, and in the role I'm in I have to do more things," said Davis, who hit 11-of-22 shots in place of the injured Rik Smits.

The Pacers hit 57 percent from the field (26-of-46) in the first half. Minnesota hit just 40 percent (17-of-43) in the first half, but 25-of-44 shots after halftime.

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