Pacers took control behind Jermaine O'Neal (30 points, 13 rebounds) in overtime to beat Milwaukee and snap a two-game losing streak.
Having played the last six games on the road, the Pacers return home for a weekend set that begins with a Friday night rematch against Denver. The Nuggets upended the Pacers 92-81 on Saturday night. After playing Denver, the Pacers have a Sunday showdown with Philadelphia.
Pacers began overtime with fresh aggression, shutting out the Bucks for nearly three minutes while taking a 118-114 lead. A 3-pointer by Jamaal Tinsley with 1:48 left put the visitors up 121-116 but it wasn't quite over yet. Tim Thomas curled into the lane for a bucket to cut it to three with 1:36 left but Ron Artest - as he did in the Pacers' 103-100 overtime victory over the Bucks on Nov. 15 - struck late. Artest rebounded his own miss to make it 123-118 with 39 seconds left, icing the victory.
The bench continued to provide a big lift in the second quarter, as the Pacers were nearly perfect, offensively, in the first six minutes. They hit 8-of-9 shots and rebounded their only miss for a putback basket in building a 50-38 lead behind strong performances from Austin Croshere, Jonathan Bender and Ron Mercer. Milwaukee got back into the game by going inside to Jason Caffey, who had eight points in the period as the Bucks cut the halftime lead to 56-51. The Pacers committed just five turnovers but were outrebounded 25-13 in the half. The bench provided 30 points on 11-of-17 shooting.
Reggie Miller got going in the third period, scoring 12 points as the Pacers held onto the lead, albeit tenuously. The period was definitely played at the Bucks' pace as the teams combined for 63 points. O'Neal also scored 12 in the period, which ended with the Pacers in front 89-81.
The lead changed hands 11 times in the final 7:14. The last was nearly fatal for the Pacers, as Tinsley was hit with a technical foul for shoving Michael Redd after jostling for rebound position with 35 seconds left. Allen made the free throw and Sam Cassell drilled a jumper to put the Bucks up 114-112 with 32 seconds left. But the Pacers went to their new go-to scorer and O'Neal drew a foul on defender Anthony Mason, then calmly stepped to the line and made both with 15 seconds left. Cassell then tossed up an airball on what turned out to be the Bucks' last shot at the lead with 3 seconds remaining. .
Tinsley made as many 3-pointers as the entire Bucks team (four).
O'Neal racked up 30 points, 13 rebounds and four assists, hitting 14-of-16 free throws to lead the Pacers. Tinsley had a season-high 21 points, adding seven assists and four steals and converting 4-of-6 from the arc. Reggie Miller bounced back 20 points, while Artest had 12. Croshere scored a season-high 11 to lead a strong effort from the second unit, which provided 37 points..
its now time to paybacc the faggot ass nuggets....