2-3 Indiana 116 Memphis 110

[645]

Indiana 116 Memphis 110

[645]

The Indiana Pacers are playing their best basketball this season. They'll try to continue that strong play and end a road skid when they travel to face the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday.

The Pacers have won five of their last six games, all at home, since Jan. 22. Indiana's only loss during that stretch came in its only road game, a 95-87 defeat at Detroit on Sunday.

NBA

[645]

MEMPHIS, Tenn., Feb. 3 (AP) -- The Indiana Pacers' inside dominance spelled trouble for the Memphis Grizzlies.

Jermaine O'Neal had 25 points and 17 rebounds, Jamaal Tinsley also scored 25 points, and the Pacers beat the Grizzlies 116-110 on Saturday night.

Ike Diogu added a season-high 19 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter, to help the Pacers win for the sixth time in seven games. O'Neal and Diogu helped Indiana build a 60-38 advantage in the paint and outrebound Memphis 51-34.

"I thought the key to the game was our inability to defensively cover the lane at all," Memphis interim coach Tony Barone said. "Give credit to Diogu and to Jermaine. They wore us out. We didn't do a bad job on Jermaine. He got his shots, but Diogu killed us in the lane."

NBA

[645]

MEMPHIS -- The X-factor showed why Saturday.

Ike Diogu got an opportunity to show the potential that had been much-discussed since he was traded from Golden State to the Indiana Pacers, leading a fourth-quarter comeback that delivered a 116-110 victory over Memphis at FedEx Forum.
Playing 23 minutes off the bench, Diogu scored a season-high 19 points, 10 during a fourth-quarter stretch that turned the game in their favor.
Diogu's was just a supplemental performance, however, amid several superlative efforts. Jermaine O'Neal scored 25 points and grabbed 17 rebounds, Jamaal Tinsley added 25 points and nine assists and Danny Granger (14) and Mike Dunleavy (13) also scored in double figures as the Pacers finished with a season-high point total.

Star

[645]

Mike Miller inexplicably stood alone in front of the opposition's bench with his hands positioned to catch and his mind primed for a 3-point shot.

The noise behind him meant nothing. Miller calmly buried a basket from beyond the arc, tying former Grizzly Jason Williams with the franchise's single-season record for 3-pointers.

The next time Miller caught the basketball and launched from 3-point range, the Grizzlies' guard moved past Williams. The long-ball again became a major weapon for the Grizzlies but it was only good enough to provide a few consolations Saturday night in their 116-110 loss to the Indiana Pacers.

Commercial Appeal