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Pacers Beat Pistons 81-69; O'Neal Gets 28

Posted on: Tuesday, 20 January 2004, 06:00 CST

Jermaine O'Neal had 28 points and 15 rebounds to help the Indiana Pacers snap the Pistons' 13-game winning streak with an 81-69 victory Tuesday night.

The Pistons were trying for the longest winning streak in franchise history and the longest in the NBA this season. Instead, they were held to nine points in the first quarter and lost to their former coach, Rick Carlisle, for the third time this season.

Reggie Miller had 22 points in another strong performance for the Eastern Conference-leading Pacers, who have won five in a row and 12 out of 13. That success has helped keep the hard-charging Pistons from overtaking them in the Central Division.

Indiana extended its division lead to 3 1/2 games.

O'Neal had eight points and 10 rebounds in the first quarter as the Pacers took a 20-9 lead. The strong start set up a relatively easy win for Indiana, which never trailed.

After shooting 19 percent in the first quarter, Detroit shot 77 percent in the second and closed the half with a 10-0 run to pull to 44-40. But that would be as close as the Pistons would get.

Corliss Williamson led the Pistons with 17 points and Richard Hamilton added 15.

Detroit couldn't find an answer for O'Neal, who had his way with Ben Wallace, last year's defensive player of the year, and Mehmet Okur. O'Neal wasted no time going right at Wallace, driving to the basket and pulling up for short jumpers.

That set the tone for the aggressive Pacers, who overcame foul trouble with their deep bench.

Detroit seemed to be getting back into the game early in the fourth quarter after Hamilton scored on a layup to make the score 72-63.

Miller responded with his third 3-pointer of the night. His performance made up for struggles from Ron Artest and Al Harrington, who combined for 15 points on 6-of-25 shooting.

This win was much easier than the Pacers' first two against Detroit. Indiana scraped by with an 89-87 win at Detroit to start the season, then beat the Pistons 80-75 on Dec. 19.

Notes:@ Pacers' F Jonathan Bender missed his second straight game with a sore left knee. ... The Pistons' nine first-quarter points were a season low for the quarter and tied the Pacers' NBA-era low for points allowed in the first quarter. ... Hamilton received a technical foul with 4:07 to play in the first half for arguing a foul call. ... Miller got a technical at 3:55 of the third when he didn't get a call on a drive to the basket. ... Williamson got a technical with 40 seconds left in the third when he hit Artest in the throat. The contact appeared to be accidental.

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