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Pacers Crush Heat 91-80 to Take 2-0 Lead

Posted on: Sunday, 9 May 2004, 06:00 CDT

INDIANAPOLIS - Reggie Miller scored 19 points and hit three of Indiana's seven 3-pointers to lead the Pacers to a 91-80 victory over the Miami Heat and a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals Saturday night.

Indiana set an NBA record with its sixth straight playoff win by double digits. The previous record was five, held by the 1985 Los Angeles Lakers and 1947 Philadelphia Warriors.

The series moves to Miami, where the Heat have won 16 straight, for Game 3 on Monday.

Lamar Odom led Miami with 19 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out. Dwyane Wade added 19 points, five assists and six turnovers for Miami.

Pacers All-star Jermaine O'Neal, coming off a 13-point outing in Game 1, was not at his best again with 17 points on 5-for-15 shooting.

Ron Artest had 20 points for the Pacers, who have won 11 straight overall and 11 in a row over the Heat.

Timberwolves 94, Kings 89

In Minneapolis, Sam Cassell was clutch once again, and the Minnesota Timberwolves salvaged a split at home to start their Western Conference semifinal series.

Cassell scored eight points in the final three minutes, Kevin Garnett had 28 points and 11 rebounds and the Timberwolves closed the game with a 16-1 run to beat Sacramento.

Game 3 is Monday at raucous Arco Arena, where Minnesota was the only visitor this year to win twice. The Kings, though, have won eight of their last nine playoff games at home and are 138-26 there during the last four regular seasons.

Peja Stojakovic had 26 points and seven rebounds for Sacramento, which wasted a late 10-point lead.

The Kings, who trailed the majority of the game, used a 16-2 spurt to go up 88-78 on Doug Christie's layup with 4:11 left. He finished with 15 points.

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