The Indiana Pacers proved on Tuesday that they're more than Ron Artest and Jermaine O'Neal .
A group of reserves rescued the Pacers with an 21-3 run spanning the third and fourth quarters in a 103-90 win over the Boston Celtics in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
With an erratic O'Neal watching from the bench and Artest watching from home because of a suspension, Austin Croshere and Jonathan Bender ignited a lifeless Pacers team late in the third quarter.
"You don't want to mess up the chemistry," O'Neal said. "You don't want the opposing team to go on a run and beat you."
Indiana leads the series 2-0; it moves to Boston for Game 3 on Friday night.
Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 27 points, but again struggled from the field despite the absence of Artest, the NBA's defensive player of the year.
"It's double frustrating," Pierce said. "We had an opportunity to take a game when they didn't have their best player on the court. We just unraveled."
Nets 99, Knicks 81
The mismatch of the Knicks-Nets series stuck to form, New Jersey showing its superiority over an outmatched and banged-up opponent in a game played in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
The Nets opened a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series, which resumes Thursday night at New York.
The Knicks weren't as docile as in the series opener when there was no response after Tim Thomas was flagrantly fouled and injured, but they didn't put up all that much of a fight, either.
Jason Kidd and Kenyon Martin led the way as the Nets took control in the second quarter. New Jersey led by as many as 22 points in defeating the Knicks for the 14th time in their last 16 meetings.
Martin led New Jersey with 22 points and 16 rebounds.
Kings 83, Mavericks 79
In Sacramento, California, Chris Webber got his first playoff triple-double and Brad Miller hit the go-ahead shot with 34 seconds left to lead Sacramento past Dallas.
Webber had 19 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists, while Mike Bibby scored 10 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter for the Kings. They took a 2-0 lead in a playoff series for just the second time since moving to Sacramento.
Game 3 is Saturday in Dallas, where the Kings have lost five straight games dating back to last season's playoffs.
Dirk Nowitzki had 28 points and 10 rebounds for the Mavericks, who got just one field goal in the final three minutes.
Injured forward Jamal Mashburn was sent home by the New Orleans Hornets on Tuesday after he complained that the NBA team mishandled his medical care.
"He's not going to be with the team for the remainder of the playoffs," Hornets spokesman Harold Kaufman said. Kaufman declined further comment.
Mashburn, who was left off the playoff roster and ineligible for postseason play, appeared in only 19 games this season because of a bruised right knee.
Since joining the Hornets in a 2000 trade, Mashburn has missed 111 regular-season games because of injuries.
In an interview on Tuesday with The Miami Herald, Mashburn complained about the medical treatment he received from the Hornets.
"This organization and the way things were done, I've been misdiagnosed a couple of times, and it has gotten to the point where I have to take care of myself," he said. "It kind of shows you what pro sports is all about. Sometimes it's not the athlete's best interest that's in mind. They just want you out there on the court."
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