O’Neal in form as Pacers knock off the Jazz

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Jermaine O’Neal scored 27 points and
had 11 rebounds as the Indiana Pacers beat the Utah Jazz 93-83
in National Basketball Association play on Friday in
Indianapolis.

The Pacers (13-8) won for the first time since Ron Artest
made his public trade request, a request the team says it will
try and deliver on, and rebounded from its lowest offensive
output of the season on Wednesday against Boston.

Indiana also improved to 8-4 at home, getting 16 points
from both Austin Croshere and Stephen Jackson in the victory.

“We’re not worried about where he’s going,” Jackson said of
the controversy surrounding Artest.

“He’s not here. We have a job to do.”

Utah (10-13) saw its two-game winning streak snapped, which
included a surprising win over Detroit on Monday.

The Pacers shot just 41 percent from the field, but made 28
of 33 free throws and led 38-37 at the half before trailing by
one point heading into the fourth quarter.

Sarunas Jasikevicius added 11 points for the Pacers.

Mehmet Okur led the Jazz with 19 points and 12 rebounds
while Andrei Kirilenko just missed a triple-double with 11
points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.

Deron Williams added 14 points for Utah, with Jarron
Collins chipped in with 13 points and eight rebounds.

“This was a winnable ball game on our part,” said Utah
coach Jerry Sloan.

In Toronto, Jason Richardson scored 23 points as the Golden
State Warriors beat the Raptors 108-98.

Derek Fisher scored 21 points and Baron Davis added 20
points and had 11 assists for the Warriors.

Chris Bosh scored 27 points and Jose Calderon added 15
points and had 11 assists for the Raptors, now 4-19 and 1-11 at
home.

In East Rutherford, Vince Carter scored 34 points and had
12 rebounds as the New Jersey Nets beat the Denver Nuggets
115-106 in overtime.

Richard Jefferson added 21 points for the Nets.

Andre Miller scored 22 points and had 13 assists and
Carmelo Anthony added 20 points for the Nuggets.

In Philadelphia, Dwyane Wade scored 32 points as the Miami
Heat beat the 76ers 112-105.

Shaquille O’Neal added 21 points and had 13 rebounds for
the Heat.

Allen Iverson scored 35 points and Chris Webber added 23
points for the 76ers.

In Detroit, Rasheed Wallace scored 19 points and had 10
rebounds as the Pistons beat the Chicago Bulls 110-82.

In Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki scored 31 points as the Mavericks
beat the Orlando Magic 109-103.

In Baton Rouge, Eddie House scored 26 points as the Phoenix
Suns beat the New Orleans Hornets 101-88.

In Atlanta, Joe Johnson scored 36 points and Al Harrington
added 35 as the Hawks beat the New York Knicks 122-111.

In Boston, Michael Redd and Mo Williams both scored 24
points as the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Celtics 100-96.

In Portland, Rashard Lewis scored 37 points as the Seattle
SuperSonics beat the Trail Blazers 111-99.

In Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant scored 41 points as the Lakers
edged the Washington Wizards 97-91.