Notes & highlights of the 10/29/2008 Pacers vs Pistons game at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Roy Hibbert, Brandon Rush, TJ Ford and Marquis Daniels.

A crazy call from the refs during the Indiana Pacers versus Phoenix Suns game at Conseco Fieldhouse. Stoudemire pulling an unsmooth Reggie move on Diener. That wasn't the only crazy call ...

Iverson scored 18 points on 7-of-20 shooting and was inconsolable on the bench after leaving late in the fourth quarter. The Sixers were trying to become the first team in NBA history to overcome a 3-0 series deficit and the third to force a seventh game in that scenario. Iverson brought the sellout crowd to its feet by draining the game's opening shot on a 17-footer from the left corner. But Miller and Rose responded with back-to-back jumpers, setting the tone early. "Playoff time is when I'm at my best," Miller said. "I'm the most focused. You can concentrate in on one team. You get days off. You can rest your body. I get to watch a lot of tape. To not be a part of that, especially when we were up 3-1, and we could have came back and closed it at home, it kept bothering and messing with me. The more I thought about it the more upset I got. I wanted to do something about it." Austin Croshere opened the second period with a dunk to open a 39-25 cushion before the Sixers made a run. George Lynch made two free throws, Aaron McKie added four more and Iverson hit a runner as Philadelphia pulled within 40-33. Rose answered with a layup before McKie hit a four-footer, Toni Kukoc a layup and Iverson two free throws. McKie, who finished 19 points, nine rebounds and four assists, made a layup as Philadelphia cut it to 42-41 with 6:22 left in the first half, forcing Indiana to call a timeout and sending the crowd of 20,969 into a frenzy. Rose hit a 3-pointer coming out of the stoppage in play, but Tyrone Hill and Kukoc made back-to-back layups, forging a 45-45 tie 4:28 before halftime. After a layup by Hill got the Sixers within 58-57, Miller made two free throws, Jackson hit a short hook and Smits a follow shot to open a seven-point lead with 7:53 remaining in the third period. Iverson drained a 27-footer and Smits answered with a 10-footer. Iverson made a driving layup and Smits again responded, this time with a 12-footer from the right side. Hill's free throw drew Philadelphia within 68-63, but Dale Davis dunked on consecutive trips and Miller's layup stretched the margin to 11 with 3:47 left in the third quarter. Miller helped put the Sixers away when he hit a 10-footer from the right side, blocked Iverson's shot on the defensive end and capped off the ensuing trip by burying a 26-footer with 31 seconds left in the quarter to make it 83-69. "Reggie has been playing like this in the playoffs for years and years," Iverson said. "He's been here before. This is my second playoffs. For a lot of guys on my team, this was their first. When you add Jalen to the mix, you can't get any better than that. He's the 'go-to guy.' Reggie's been there before but Jalen is the guy that makes everything happen on that team." Philadelphia fans let Miller have it with a steady diet of derisive chants, but the unflappable shooting guard is used to the abuse and even hinted that he thrives on it. "I thought they were saying 'Reggie Rocks'," Miller joked. "That's what they were saying? This is the best atmosphere for me. When you go into an environment like this or New York or whatever and you have 20-25-thousand people that all day have been drinking, all day have been making signs, all day have been cursing your name front and backwards to come here and taunt you, that is the best for me. I already got 'em, if it took all day for them to do that, I already have them." Iverson played valiantly in the series despite an assortment of injuries, including a chip fracture of the right ankle. But he left the game with 2:36 to play and was overwrought with emotion on the bench, crying noticeably as the final minutes of his season wound down. "I'm a competitor. I see the clock going down on my season. I'm out of the game, so obviously the game is over," Iverson said. "I just saw my whole season pass by like that. In the snap of a finger it's over, four quarters and the whole thing is over. It just hurt because you always start to think about what you could have done to get your team over the hump. I don't think about what a guy on my team could have done better or if this guy could have given us more, I just felt I should have done more. That's the thing that hurts the most." Injured Philadelphia point guard Eric Snow (ankle) tried to play for the first time since the opening round, but was limited to six minutes and did not score in the first half before sitting down for the remainder of the contest. Lynch scored 14 points, Kukoc 12 and Hill and Theo Ratliff added 11 apiece for the Sixers, who shot 39 percent (34-of-87) and lost the battle on the boards, 46-41.

HIGH QUALITY VERSION: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRtcFbKK_us&fmt=18 Michael Jordan had just received his 5th Regular Season MVP Award and he made sure to prove that he deserved it, scoring 41 points on 13-of-22 shooting and 15-of-18 from the line. He scored 24 points in the second half, including a flurry of eight at the end of the third quarter and three straight Chicago baskets in the last 2 1/2 minutes to fight off a final rally by Indiana. It was his 35th career 40-point playoff game. "At a certain point, I felt I had to take over," Jordan said. "We just weren't getting anything done offensively. I had a lot of extra energy tonight and luckily I was able to get the job done." "Michael had a lot of great, tough shots tonight," Pacers coach Larry Bird said. "I'll change that -- that's tough shots for other people and routine for him. There's no question that he's the reason they won it. That's the reason why he's the MVP." "As soon as they gave him the MVP award, I knew he was going to have a huge game for us tonight," Pippen said. "Michael loves challenges and when they tell him he's the best, by giving him the award, that's still a big challenge for him. I don't know if anybody can stop him when he's on his game." "To tell you the truth, all we can keep doiing is keep plugging away," Miller said. "We had a great opportunity to take this game tonight. But Jordan wouldn't be denied. He did what a great player always does, he stepped up and took over." In addition to Jordan's second-half explosion, the Bulls also used several other ingredients from their Game One victory - more stifling defense from Scottie Pippen on Pacers point guard Mark Jackson and converting 20 Indiana turnovers into 26 points. Jackson had seven turnovers for the second straight game. "He's does a great job on me, no question about it," Jackson said. "It shouldn't affect our total game, yet it has. These series are about adjustments and we have to make them now." "We've been there before and mental toughness is what wins this time of year," Jordan said. "We've been through it against Miami and New York in the past. Indiana's going through their first (conference) finals experience. There is a difference." "The difference again tonight was that they stepped up their intensity on defense," Mark Jackson said. "We still remain confident. We've been in both games and had opportunities to win both of them. We're a veteran team. We're going back home, hopefully to take care of business there."

Recorded on November 05, 2008 using a Flip Video camcorder.

The Knicks and the Pacers are in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals where the Knicks have a 3-2 series lead and the pacers are on the brink of elimination. In the 1st quarter, the Knicks started out shooting 1/13 from the field and were down 13-4, but they went on a 10-4 run to end the 1st period. In the second period, the Knicks came out playing with more intensity and they led for the most part in the 2nd period. Marcus Camby, Latrell Sprewell, and others played hard. Unfortunately for the knicks, with 6:03 left in the 1st half, Larry Johnson got injured and had to be carried off to the court and in the hospital and would not return for the game. The Knicks still played well in the 2nd period after he left with the injury; they led at the half 41-35. In the 3rd quarter, the pacers started on a 11-0 run to give them a 46-41 lead. But the knicks kept fighing their way back into the game. The game was tied at 59-59 going into the 4th period. At one point, Allan Houston was 1/5 from the field in the game, but since that point, he went 11/12 and he had 32 points. It was still a tight game up until the last minute in the 4th. All the other knicks like Camby, Sprewell, Childs, Ward, K. Thomas played very well. The Knicks also got to the foul line in this game a lot more than the Pacers. The Knicks won 90-82 to win Game 6 and win the series 4-2. The Knicks were the 1st 8th seed to make the finals. They had interviews, and a huge celebration after the game and it was just a wonderful feeling.

HIGH QUALITY VERSION: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJrTGf0Wcgg&fmt=18 A limping Reggie Miller scored 13 of his 28 points in the final 4 1/2 minutes and the Indiana Pacers survived a furious late rally by the Chicago Bulls and climbed back into the Eastern Conference finals with a 107-105 victory in Game Three. "I stepped on Mike's foot in the middle of the third quarter," Miller said. Clearly hobbled, Miller nevertheless made three three-pointers, a 20-footer that beat the shot clock and the clinching free throws in the final 4:11. He was the only Pacer to score from the field in the last 6 1/2 minutes. "It loosened up as the game went on," Miller said. "I knew I couldn't drive, so I basically just played off their mistakes." Miller made 9-of-15 shots, including 4-of-7 from behind the arc. Indiana's bench held a 43-25 scoring advantage, including 20-6 over the final 13-plus minutes. "He said he could go," Pacers coach Larry Bird said. "He put everything on the line and stepped up and hit the big shots." Michael Jordan scored 30 points and Scottie Pippen added 23 for the Bulls, who suffered their first road loss of the postseason and had a five-game winning streak snapped. Chicago trimmed an eight-point deficit to 103-102 in just over a minute, but Rose and Davis each made a pair of clutch free throws before Miller sealed it. "He was hurt and I don't know why we didn't go at him," Bulls guard Ron Harper said. "We had a chance in this game and we know we let a golden opportunity slip away."

INDIANAPOLIS, November 5, 2008 (AP) -- Amare Stoudemire thought he had a career scoring high locked up when he made two free throws in the closing minutes against the Indiana Pacers. Turns out, a scoring error took it away. The Phoenix Suns' power forward accidentally was credited with a dunk by Boris Diaw in the fourth quarter, and the mistake wasn't corrected until after the game. He settled for 49 points, and the Suns beat the Pacers 113-103 on Wednesday night. Stoudemire just missed his career high of 50 points, set against Portland on Jan. 2, 2005. But the scoreboard showed that he had 51 points after his second free throw with 1:08 to play. He took the mishap in stride. "You guys here in Indiana cheated me," he joked. Even without a career mark, he impressed his point guard, Steve Nash. Stoudemire shot 17-for-21 from the field, made 15 free throws without a miss and had 11 rebounds, six assists and five steals. "He was unbelievable," Nash said. "Maybe the best game I've ever seen him play." Pacers forward Danny Granger gave Stoudemire credit for the outburst, but said there's no excuse for allowing a player to score so many points. "He hit every jump shot and dunked on everyone," Granger said. Diaw added 14 points for the Suns (4-1). Granger and T.J. Ford each scored 23 points, and Marquis Daniels added 19 for the Pacers (1-2). The Suns respected Indiana's win over defending NBA champion Boston on Saturday and expected a difficult matchup. "We knew these guys were going to be tough after that home opener they had against Boston -- they played extremely well in that game," Phoenix coach Terry Porter said. "It was a great character win tonight." The Suns shot 56 percent from the field to easily recover from an 11-point deficit in the first quarter. Stoudemire had 21 points in the opening period, shooting 8-for-8 from the field while the rest of the Suns went 3-for-10. He said he knew he needed to get off to a fast start because the team played the previous night in New Jersey. "Normally, I ease into it and try to get guys involved early," Stoudemire said. "Tonight, coming off the back-to-back -- we got somewhat of an older group -- I wanted to take it on myself to give ourselves a spark. I was able to do that and carry the load tonight to get this win." Down 38-27 after the first quarter, the Suns rallied in the second. Raja Bell's bank shot cut Indiana's lead to three at 62-59 with 41 seconds left in the first half. Ford responded with a floater and, after Grant Hill was called for an offensive foul, Ford hit a jumper to give the Pacers a 66-59 lead at halftime. The Pacers made nine of 14 3-pointers in the first half. The Suns took an 86-84 lead on Leandro Barbosa's 3-pointer. Hill's layup made it 88-84 and forced the Pacers to call timeout with 1:17 left in the third quarter. The Suns held the Pacers scoreless for the final 3:13 of the third quarter and led 90-84 at the end of the period. The Pacers shot just 27 percent in the period, while Phoenix shot 67 percent. "I just think we have to do more," Indiana coach Jim O'Brien said. "We stood around in the third period. We played a brilliant first half of offensive basketball, then we didn't even have an average third quarter." Indiana center Jeff Foster said the Pacers stopped being aggressive early in the second half. "It seemed like we kind of stopped going to the basket in the third quarter," he said. "We got timid. We were able to get to them early, but to their credit, they did what they do and put it to us in the second half." Phoenix took charge early in the fourth quarter. After taking a 98-88 lead on Hill's basket, the Suns never led by fewer than five points. Phoenix's balanced lineup made it difficult for the Pacers to commit extra bodies to defending Stoudemire. "When you surround somebody, it's damned if you do, damned if you don't with Phoenix," O'Brien said. Stoudemire was most pleased with his defensive effort. The Suns are trying to change their reputation as a team that scores but can't stop opponents. "I'm trying to get us more respect from you guys [the media] and everybody else from a defensive standpoint. That's an area where I'm trying to improve and really trying to set a tone early with that." Game notes Phoenix C Shaquille O'Neal played only 12 minutes because of foul trouble and finished with three points and six rebounds. ... Indiana C Rasho Nesterovic (sprained right ankle) and G Mike Dunleavy (right knee) missed the game. ... Phoenix F Matt Barnes showed up for the game, but had to leave for family reasons. Made by NBA TV.

This is the game where things got a bit testy between Reggie Miller & Michael Jordan. Miller gets ejected & MJ torches them for 40 points..

Eastern Conference Finals

HIGH QUALITY VERSION: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htSWwyrxUIA&fmt=18 Reggie Miller's three-pointer with seven-tenths of a second to go capped a fourth-quarter long-distance shooting barrage and gave the Indiana Pacers a 96-94 victory over the Chicago Bulls, evening the Eastern Conference finals at two games each. "We wanted to get Jordan out of the play and he switched," said Miller. "Pippen wasn't playing me aggressively and Derrick made the pass. All I had to do was get my feet square." Miller added to his growing playoff legend after Scottie Pippen missed a pair of free throws for Chicago and the ball went out of bounds with 2.9 seconds to go. Miller lost Ron Harper as he curled around a series of picks and bumped aside Michael Jordan at the top of the circle before taking the inbound pass from McKey and burying the game-winner from the right wing. "We designed the play for Reggie," Pacers coach Larry Bird said. "I didn't think he was going to as wide open as he was. He was wide open. I knew he was going to make it." The Bulls had one last chance, but Jordan, who scored 28 points, saw his double-pump 25-foot banker rattle in and out as the horn sounded, completing an erratic final three minutes for the two-time defending NBA champions. "Michael got a look and a shot that scared me," Pacers forward Antonio Davis said. "He double- and triple-clutched and I said there's no way - not even for him." "Every time I shoot the ball I think it's going in," said Jordan, who was 12-of-27 from the field. "But it's out of my hands once it leaves my hands. I was surprised I got it off. But a lot of things surprised me today." Chicago had some tough breaks with the calls down the stretch. In addition to the call against Rodman, who was whistled for an offensive foul with 21 seconds to play, Best appeared to have a toe on the line on his three-pointer, and a loose ball ruled off Pippen with 2:16 to go appeared to go off one of the Pacers. "This is an unbelievable finish," Bulls coach Phil Jackson said. "The Pacers should not have been in the position to do that. This was Munich in '72 revisited. I doubt I can watch the last 10 minutes (again) without calling (NBA vice president of basketball operations) Rod Thorn. The offensive foul on Rodman was unbelievable." "That was a tough call, but we can't whine about it," Chicago guard Steve Kerr said. "But maybe we should. It worked for the Pacers." Kukoc scored 18 points, Harper added 13 and Pippen 12 for the Bulls, who shot 56 percent (39-of-70), but just 4-of-9 from behind the arc. Rodman pulled down 16 rebounds, helping Chicago to a 40-32 advantage on the boards. Pippen had 10 assists and seven rebounds, but made just 2-of-7 free throws. "I'm part of the team and we all have to step forward," Jordan said. "I'm not going to point fingers. But we all have to move on. Things happened here today but you have to roll with the punches."

HIGH QUALITY VERSION: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZXfyN1K_jY&fmt=18 Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan led a first-half assault as the Chicago Bulls put together their best game of the playoffs, trouncing the Indiana Pacers, 106-87, in Game Five to regain control of the Eastern Conference finals. Pippen, who missed two crucial free throws at the end of Game Four, scored 17 of his 20 points in an outstanding all-around first half. He shot 7-of-12 from the field and again smothered Pacers point guard Mark Jackson, who managed five points. "Dealing with Monday night's loss was very tough for me personally," said Pippen, who had been shotting less than 40 percent from the field and under 50 percent from the line in the series. "I wanted to go and attack the basket tonight, use all the energy I had, to make up for the mistakes I made on Monday." Jordan, who missed a three-pointer at the buzzer in Game Four and joined coach Phil Jackson in criticizing the referees afterwards, also scored 17 first-half points. He shot 12-of-20 from the field and finished with 29 points. "We came out tonight with something to prove," Jordan said. "We decided to be the aggressors. Scottie and I had good energy going toward the basket and we were able to make it happen." "I did not emphasize that in practice," Jackson said. "I did not say that you have to go to the basket or that we have to go to the basket. But our players knew what they didn't do in the previous two games. Scottie and Michael took it upon themselves to prove a point today." Consecutive three-pointers by Miller and Jackson gave the Pacers a 10-7 lead just over 3 1/2 minutes into the contest, but it was all downhill from there. Indiana did not score again from the field until midway through the second quarter. "The Bulls wanted this game more than we did," Miller said. "All 12 guys suited up tonight feel embarrassment. So the total team lost. We played awful." Indiana missed a remarkable 18 straight shots until Smits made a jumper with 6:12 remaining, cutting the deficit to 39-22. The Bulls responded with a 10-2 run that featured baskets by Pippen and Jordan and three-point plays by Luc Longley and Ron Harper that built a 49-24 lead with 3:54 left. "We never allowed them to establish the low post, which was a key," Jordan said. "In Game Four, Smits did that and opened up the perimeter for their shooters." Not this time. Chicago shot 50 percent (41-of-82) from the field and held Indiana to 34 percent (23-of-67) in its biggest win of the postseason. "The Bulls were hyped up for this game," Pacers coach Larry Bird said. "But I don't think they played any better than past games. The problem was that we were passive. We just didn't play and that was the difference. I'm shocked that we came out in the biggest game of the year with nothing, no energy. I have no answer for why not." Pippen finished the half with a flourish, scoring all the points in an 8-2 burst that gave Chicago a 57-32 halftime lead. He had 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists in the first half. Jordan added 10 more points in the third quarter, which ended with Chicago holding an 87-56 lead. Pippen opened the final period with a layup, giving the Bulls their largest lead of the game. "I think all of us raised our level of play tonight," Pippen said. "We were the hungry team. We were the aggressive team and we were more determined. It ended up showing on the scoreboard." Jordan's driving layup with 7:11 to play gave him 35,000 career points, including the regular season and playoffs. He departed just over two minutes later. "I told the team I was not satisfied with how they played tonight," Bird said. "We're going to have to pick it up to the level of the last two games if we're going to stay in this series." Game Six is Friday at Indiana, where the Pacers have not lost in seven playoff games. However, Chicago has not been pushed to a Game Seven since the 1992 Eastern Conference semifinals against the New York Knicks.

Amare Stoudemire thought he had a career scoring high locked up when he made two free throws in the closing minutes against the Indiana Pacers. Turns out, a scoring error took it away. The Phoenix Suns' power forward accidentally was credited with a dunk by Boris Diaw in the fourth quarter, and the mistake wasn't corrected until after the game. He settled for 49 points, and the Suns beat the Pacers 113-103 on Wednesday night. Stoudemire just missed his career high of 50 points, set against Portland on Jan. 2, 2005. But the scoreboard showed that he had 51 points after his second free throw with 1:08 to play. He took the mishap in stride. "You guys here in Indiana cheated me," he joked. Even without a career mark, he impressed his point guard, Steve Nash. Stoudemire shot 17-for-21 from the field, made 15 free throws without a miss and had 11 rebounds, six assists and five steals. "He was unbelievable," Nash said. "Maybe the best game I've ever seen him play." Pacers forward Danny Granger gave Stoudemire credit for the outburst, but said there's no excuse for allowing a player to score so many points. "He hit every jump shot and dunked on everyone," Granger said. Diaw added 14 points for the Suns (4-1). Granger and T.J. Ford each scored 23 points, and Marquis Daniels added 19 for the Pacers (1-2). The Suns respected Indiana's win over defending NBA champion Boston on Saturday and expected a difficult matchup. "We knew these guys were going to be tough after that home opener they had against Boston -- they played extremely well in that game," Phoenix coach Terry Porter said. "It was a great character win tonight." The Suns shot 56 percent from the field to easily recover from an 11-point deficit in the first quarter. Stoudemire had 21 points in the opening period, shooting 8-for-8 from the field while the rest of the Suns went 3-for-10. He said he knew he needed to get off to a fast start because the team played the previous night in New Jersey. "Normally, I ease into it and try to get guys involved early," Stoudemire said. "Tonight, coming off the back-to-back -- we got somewhat of an older group -- I wanted to take it on myself to give ourselves a spark. I was able to do that and carry the load tonight to get this win." Down 38-27 after the first quarter, the Suns rallied in the second. Raja Bell's bank shot cut Indiana's lead to three at 62-59 with 41 seconds left in the first half. Ford responded with a floater and, after Grant Hill was called for an offensive foul, Ford hit a jumper to give the Pacers a 66-59 lead at halftime. The Pacers made nine of 14 3-pointers in the first half. The Suns took an 86-84 lead on Leandro Barbosa's 3-pointer. Hill's layup made it 88-84 and forced the Pacers to call timeout with 1:17 left in the third quarter. The Suns held the Pacers scoreless for the final 3:13 of the third quarter and led 90-84 at the end of the period. The Pacers shot just 27 percent in the period, while Phoenix shot 67 percent. "I just think we have to do more," Indiana coach Jim O'Brien said. "We stood around in the third period. We played a brilliant first half of offensive basketball, then we didn't even have an average third quarter." Indiana center Jeff Foster said the Pacers stopped being aggressive early in the second half. "It seemed like we kind of stopped going to the basket in the third quarter," he said. "We got timid. We were able to get to them early, but to their credit, they did what they do and put it to us in the second half." Phoenix took charge early in the fourth quarter. After taking a 98-88 lead on Hill's basket, the Suns never led by fewer than five points. Phoenix's balanced lineup made it difficult for the Pacers to commit extra bodies to defending Stoudemire. "When you surround somebody, it's damned if you do, damned if you don't with Phoenix," O'Brien said. Stoudemire was most pleased with his defensive effort. The Suns are trying to change their reputation as a team that scores but can't stop opponents. "I'm trying to get us more respect from you guys [the media] and everybody else from a defensive standpoint. That's an area where I'm trying to improve and really trying to set a tone early with that." Game notes Phoenix C Shaquille O'Neal played only 12 minutes because of foul trouble and finished with three points and six rebounds. ... Indiana C Rasho Nesterovic (sprained right ankle) and G Mike Dunleavy (right knee) missed the game. ... Phoenix F Matt Barnes showed up for the game, but had to leave for family reasons.

For High Quality, add "&fmt=18" to the link. Danny Granger scores 23 points, and the Pacers held the Nets to eight field goals in the second half for a 98-80 victory

A very competitive game from end to end, as was the case whenever these 2 teams faced each other. They brought the best out of each other each time they faced off.