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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
PHOENIX (AP) -- Indiana's longest road trip of the season ended a
little early for Jermaine O'Neal and coach Isiah Thomas.
|  | | Suns forward Clifford Robinson (30) gets fouled by the Pacers' Jermaine O'Neal. |
O'Neal and Thomas were thrown out of the game during a flurry of
three technical fouls against the Pacers with 1:37 to play as the
Phoenix Suns pulled away for a 93-85 victory Thursday night.
It was the second ejection for Thomas in his young career as an
NBA coach. He was thrown out of a Thanksgiving Day game in
Indianapolis. Both games were televised nationally by TNT.
He said the officiating was inconsistent throughout this one.
"We would have liked to have seen who would have won it at the
end without all this other stuff happening," Thomas said.
Shawn Marion matched his career-high with 27 points and grabbed
17 rebounds for the Suns, who used a tight defense to turn 17
Indiana turnovers into 28 points.
Phoenix shot just 39 percent but the effort was a vast
improvement from a 20-point home loss to Minnesota on Sunday. That
game prompted owner Jerry Colangelo to deliver a stern lecture to
the team Monday.
"I am pleased with the effort," Suns coach Scott Skiles said.
"Right from the beginning, we played hard and played good
defense."
Jason Kidd shot just 2-for-14 from the field, but fell only a
rebound short of a triple-double with 12 points, 13 assists and
nine rebounds for the Suns. Tony Delk added 16 points for Phoenix.
Kidd also defended Reggie Miller, who was 8-for-23 shooting as
the Pacers finished their longest road trip of the season 3-3.
O'Neal scored 17, but just one in the second half.
Penny Hardaway, in his second game after missing the first 31 of
the season while recovering from knee surgery, scored 15 of his 16
points in the first half. But he sat down after four minutes in the
second half because of soreness in the knee.
Hardaway almost sat out the game entirely because of soreness
during the shootaround.
"They told me it was going to be that way for a while,"
Hardaway said. "It's something I just have to play through. That's
why they have to keep my minutes down in practice so I can expend
all my energy in a game. That's the smart way to do it."
Hardaway said he helped cause the problem by practicing when he
should have rested.
"I just wanted to get into shape in a hurry," he said.
Miller's 19-footer gave Indiana its last lead, 77-76, with 5:41
to play.
Kidd, who missed his first 11 shots and never made a jumper all
night, scored on a drive to ignite a 10-2 run that put Phoenix up
86-79 with 1:37 remaining.
The spurt was punctuated by three consecutive technicals against
the Pacers, and the ejections of Thomas and O'Neal.
Kidd sank all three free throws on the technicals, while Al
Harrington made two free throws, with 1:37 still remaining, and
Phoenix led 87-81.
Thomas said O'Neal deserves better from the officials.
"Every time he drives to the basket, he gets so much body
contact underneath and they never call the foul," Thomas said.
"Then at the other end, we're getting called for some brush fouls,
touch fouls. You just want some consistency throughout the game."
O'Neal said he just told the official that he'd been elbowed on
the rebound.
"I don't know what he thought I said," O'Neal said. "I
thought it was kind of quick."
Miller's 3-pointer capped a 13-0 spurt that gave Indiana a 28-15
lead with 10:36 left in the first half.
Hardaway had nine in a 16-3 run that tied it 31-31 on his
three-point play with 4:41 to go until halftime.
Phoenix led by as many as three late in the second quarter, but
the Suns' Cliff Robinson was called for a foul and a technical with
11.6 seconds to go. O'Neal made two free throws and Miller one to
give the Pacers a 46-44 lead at the break.
Miller's 3-pointer gave Indiana a 56-49 lead with 7:40 to play
in the third, but Marion brought the Suns back. He scored 11 in a
4 1/2-minute span and Phoenix led 68-67 going into the fourth.
Game notes
Phoenix guard Mario Elie, out with a broken left hand, is
expected back this weekend. ... On the trip, the Pacers beat
Seattle, Sacramento and the Los Angeles Clippers, and lost to
Portland, Utah and Phoenix. ... Kidd was 0-for-10 from the field
through three quarters. ... O'Neal averaged 3.9 points per game in
four seasons in Portland. ... Indiana's Jalen Rose was scoreless
and took just two shots in the first half. He finished with nine
points.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Indiana Clubhouse
Phoenix Clubhouse
RECAPS
Atlanta 107
Golden State 96
Portland 83
Charlotte 70
Orlando 101
New Jersey 87
Houston 76
New York 75
Milwaukee 102
Dallas 94
Phoenix 93
Indiana 85
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Reggie Miller Official Site
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